Lost & Found
by thebeautifulbicky
Summary: Merlin gets kidnapped by some Druids, Arthur goes all angsty, and a few years later a prince called Emrys comes along to visit...
1. Abduction

**Summary: Merlin gets kidnapped, Arthur goes all angsty, and a few years later a prince called Emrys comes to visit...**

**Set in mid-season-2-ish, so Merlin doesn't know who his father is. Morgana isn't evil (she won't really be featured here) and Arthur's still a dickhead XD**

**~~ Enjoy ~~**

The birds in the forest chirped happily, and the sounds of animals filled the forest with a peaceful tranquillity. It was a beautiful summer's day, with the sky bluer than the ocean and cicadas chirping away to some source of music unknown to humans. Even the trees seemed to be happily rustling away to each other.

Merlin inhaled deeply as he sat down, smelling all the different flavours of the forest. The rich earthy soil, the sharp eucalypt and the salty taste of the river filled his mind. He couldn't have asked for a better day to be outside instead of being stuck with that thick-headed prince. Gaius had asked for Merlin to take the morning off to pick some rare herbs far away from Camelot.

Of course, Merlin was skiving work already. He was only a few minutes in, and then the smells of the forest had overwhelmed him. Just a few minutes of rest couldn't hurt...

Next thing he knew, a pair of hands had clamped around his mouth. He tried to yell out and punch the person, but someone else was holding his hands and feet. Terror filled him. Instinctively he lashed out with his magic, supposedly sending everyone around him flying into the trees.

Supposedly.

What actually happened was nothing. Whoever it was, they had enough magic to be able to block his attacks, which were considerably powerful. Merlin started panicking and tried to wriggle out of the person's grasp. He'd never felt so helpless. Without magic, he was absolutely defenceless.

'Stop, Emrys,' someone whispered into his ear.

Merlin flinched at the sound of his Druid name, and then started to struggle again. If he couldn't get back to Arthur, the prince might get killed, knowing his luck. Then all his efforts would have been for nothing!

A girl walked in front of him. 'Please, don't resist. We must take you with us and leave Camelot.'

Of course that made Merlin resist even more and struggle with every millimetre of his being. I will never leave Camelot, he said telepathically to her.

The girl was surprised by how loudly and easily he'd been able to do that without any training. You leave me no choice then, Emrys. You will understand later.

She muttered a spell, and the last thing Merlin saw before the darkness overwhelmed him was the woman's face, sad and regretful. She was very pretty, and suddenly all Merlin wanted to do was make her happy again.

Then everything went black.

'We must leave some evidence of his death so that no one will look for him,' the girl said to her accomplices.

The man that had held Merlin down and was now carrying his limp body nodded. 'Darparu tystiolaeth ffug,' he whispered.

An exact replica of Merlin's clothes appeared. As they watched, the clothes tore themselves apart as if some invisible dog had gotten its jaws on them. Blood appeared on the rags and the surrounding rocks.

'Very good,' said the girl. 'Let us leave before Emrys wakes. I don't think he'll be too happy with us.'

'Merlin!' yelled Arthur, bursting into Gaius' quarters. 'Where is that idiot?'

'Merlin?' asked Gaius.

'Yes, Merlin! He said he'd be back by afternoon. I need my armour fixed for training, and my clothes prepared for dinner with the king tonight.'

'I thought he was with you, sire,' said Gaius.

Arthur sighed. How many times had Merlin mysteriously gone missing? 'When you find him, tell him that I'll have something extra special for him.'

The prince stormed out, and Gaius felt pity for his ward. An angry Arthur was never any fun to deal with.

The next day, Arthur had to wake up by himself as his incompetent servant hadn't bothered turning up. Merlin hadn't even brought him breakfast! This put him in an especially foul mood, and as he walked through the castle everyone seemed to turn around and run away as soon as they saw his face.

'Good morning, sire,' one of the knights called out.

'Anything but,' Arthur snapped back. He drew his sword, only to find it was blunt. What on earth was Merlin doing? The prince had had to put on his own armour and find his own breakfast. There was no point in having a servant if he never turned up or did any of his jobs.

The knights seemed to take note of their prince's stormy expression. They backed away quickly.

By the end of the training session, Arthur had pretty much beaten up all of his knights. They were sure to have lots of lovely cuts and bruises the next day. Normally Arthur would be laughing his head off at his victory, but that day it did nothing for his mood. He was still as irritated as he was before.

For the rest of the day, Merlin took a holiday. Arthur decided to borrow a servant, Stephen, by the time it was midday. Stephen started muttering about incompetent servants and the honour of serving the prince until a glare from Arthur shut him up.

Finally, Arthur decided to go looking for Merlin. He had nothing to do for the rest of the day, and thought it would be funny to think up of especially cruel chores for his manservant to do once he was found. But no one, it seemed, had seen Merlin since yesterday. Arthur decided to call it a day and went to bed, with the temporary servant practically drooling over him.

On the third morning that Merlin had decided to grace Arthur with his absence, the said prince crashed into Guinevere.

'Gwen! What are you doing?'

'Sire,' she said, looking very flustered. 'I'm looking for Merlin. He told me a few days ago he'd take me on a picnic. Not a romantic one, of course, just one as friends - I mean, the weather's so nice - perfect for a picnic-'

'I'm looking for Merlin as well,' said Arthur, who knew by experience that if given a chance, Gwen could ramble for 10 minutes straight.

'Great!' said Gwen, but she didn't say anything after that.

'Um - would you like to accompany me?' offered Arthur.

An awkward pause - then Gwen said, 'Sure, sure, I would love to.'

The couple went to the kitchens, but no one had seen Merlin. They went to the markets and had the same result. Even Gaius had no idea where his ward was.

'I give up,' Arthur said after flopping onto the ground. 'That Merlin can take care of himself. I'm going hunting now.'

Gwen gave him a look of disapproval, but they both knew there was nothing they could do. And so Gwen did the rest of her chores for Morgana and Arthur got ready for hunting. He dragged Stephen along, partly out of spite, and partly because he needed someone to carry the game back.

During that hunt, Arthur swore to himself to never complain about Merlin again. This servant was such a bootlicker! It had only been a few days and already Arthur missed his usual manservant's idle chatter and cheery face. It was fun to throw something at. However, this servant did nearly everything perfectly. It gave him no excuse to let out his anger on the ever-so-perfect servant. He couldn't exactly throw a knife at someone who had just polished his armour to perfection.

But one thing that Stephen could not do was walk quietly. Arthur swore he was making a deliberate effort to step on every twig in the forest. Each time he did, he would look up, redder than a tomato, and apologize profusely. If his walking did not scare the game away, then his talking would. At least Merlin knew better than to ramble on like that.

After two rabbits and a little fawn, a clue to Merlin's location turned up. His neckerchief. It had been snagged on some branches, as if he'd been running away from something.

'Look for any other marks!' ordered Arthur. He felt a twinge of concern. If Merlin had been running and he hadn't returned yet, where the hell was he?

'Sire!' Sir Leon's voice was shaking. He held up Merlin's brown jacket. It had teeth marks and dried bloodstains.

'Oh no. Oh, no.' Arthur felt panic rising up in his throat. Merlin had been running... And had been bitten by something at least a day ago, judging by the colour of the blood.

'Hurry up and find anything else,' he said weakly. Then he stumbled through the trees and saw exactly what he was hoping like hell not to see.

Merlin's clothes had been torn apart. And an impossibly huge amount of dried blood was lying underneath that.

**REVIEW IF YOU WANT MERLIN TO SURVIVE XD**


	2. Grievance

**THANKYOU FOR YOUR REVIEWS! **

**Uhh so far, Merlin's been kidnapped by some Druids and they left some ripped clothes on the forest for everyone else to find so that they wouldn't go looking for him. And Arthur's just found the ripped clothes :O **

Merlin's clothes had been ripped apart and flung all over the place. Blood encrusted each and every piece, dyeing them an ugly maroon colour. _(SUCK IT UP, SPELLCHECK, I'M AUSTRALIAN! I'M NOT GONNA DO AMERICAN SPELLING FOR YOU!)_ Stains of crimson were smeared over the surrounding trees and rocks.

Arthur felt sick. He wanted to vomit, but his body wouldn't move. This was impossible! How could his clumsy manservant let this happen to himself?

'Look for Merlin!' he ordered. 'He may still be around here.'

He felt Sir Leon's hand on his shoulder. 'Sire. I don't think-'

'Just look for him!' Arthur's voice cracked. 'Just... Just go!'

Leon just looked at his prince with pity. Although he would rather go through a thousand sword-fights than admit it, Arthur only had one true friend - Merlin.

The prince heard Leon walking away. He let himself slip onto the ground. Denial filled him. No, Merlin couldn't be dead! He couldn't! When that idiot came back, he was going to make him muck out the stables for a year for making him worry so much. Arthur remembered that morning when he hadn't felt even slightly worried that Merlin wasn't there. He'd just laughed and said that the servant could take care of himself.

What had he done? Maybe if he'd gone looking for him as soon as he suspected something, then this wouldn't be happening. Maybe then Merlin wouldn't be - no! He wasn't dead! Arthur just knew it. He didn't know how long he sat there, arguing with himself. He could feel the temperature starting to drop and his stomach growling, but he couldn't seem to make himself stand up.

'Sire.' It was Leon again. 'It's getting dark. We have to go.'

Wordlessly they headed back to Camelot. The sun had nearly gone done, and Arthur headed straight into his room without talking to anyone, even Gwen. He sat in front of a cold fire - a fire that Merlin should have prepared in the afternoon. But Merlin was gone now.

It was dinner time by then. Arthur didn't want to face the world, but he had to tell his father to send a search party out for Merlin. Morgana had been feeling unwell, and was eating her dinner in her own chamber. While Stephen, a temporary servant filling Merlin's position, was pouring wine into Arthur's goblet, the prince mentally prepared himself for what he was about to say.

'Father,' said Arthur. 'Today, when me and some knights were out hunting, we found Merlin's clothes.'

Uther raised an eyebrow. 'Was he taking the last few days off with a girl?'

'His clothes were torn apart. It seems that he had been attacked by wild beasts.'

'And...?' said Uther.

Arthur chose his next words carefully. 'I believe that there may be a chance that Merlin is injured and needs help. I believe that we should send out a search party to find him.'

Uther dropped his knife. 'This is ridiculous, Arthur. Did you find any dried blood on the clothes? A _lot _of dried blood?'

Arthur clenched his fists. 'Yes.'

'Then obviously he could not have survived. There is no need to waste such resources on him.'

'You can't just say that!' protested Arthur. 'There's still a chance he's alive!'

'I don't think so,' said Uther in what he himself thought was a gentle voice but was actually quite harsh. 'Why do you go to such lengths for this boy anyway? He is a mere serving boy. He is easily replaceable.'

Arthur completely lost it. 'He is not a _mere_ serving boy! He is Merlin! Merlin is definitely _not_ replaceable! He's still alive, and we have to look for him!'

The king stared at him in shock. Uther had known his son had formed a precarious relationship with Merlin, but he had not known their friendship was so deep.

'Arthur... Think about your words and actions. You are dismissed. Tomorrow morning I will send you a new manservant.' The king turned his back, a clear sign that the discussion was closed with a triple padlock and the keys thrown away.

The prince was seething. But he knew his father was probably right about Merlin's fate. That just made him all the angrier. He stormed out of the hall and collapsed onto his bed. This couldn't be happening. It was impossible. Merlin _couldn't_ be gone...

Arthur found himself walking towards the physician's chambers. Gaius deserved to have an opinion in what had happened to Merlin. Heck, he deserved to know everything! When the prince walked in, he saw Morgana sitting on a chair, crying into Gwen's arms.

'Morgana?' he said. 'I thought you were feeling ill.'

Immediately after he said that, he realised his own stupidity. Obviously she would go to the physician if she was feeling ill.

'She had a nightmare,' said Gwen. 'Nothing to worry about.'

Morgana sniffled. Arthur could hear her, even though her face was buried in Gwen's nightdress. Gaius stood awkwardly beside the two women, holding a sleeping potion. Arthur decided that Morgana and Gwen may as well hear the story... All of them were close friends with Merlin.

After he had finished explaining that Merlin could _not_ be dead, Morgana looked like she'd had a bucket of spiders poured into her bed. Gwen and Gaius were looking extremely troubled. Arthur was just plain confused.

'I - I dreamed that Merlin had been killed by a beast,' stammered Morgana.

'Grievously injured,' said Gwen.

Gaius swept Arthur into the corner of the room where they would have privacy. 'Sire... As much as I love Merlin, we cannot hope for the impossible. As much as I hate to admit this, the evidence is overwhelming. Even if he survived the attack, he would have lost too much blood.'

Knowing Merlin's secret, Gaius had already realized something fishy was going on. Merlin would've used magic against the beast, and with his power, would've had no problems defeating it. He'd had plenty of dealings with natural and magical beings in the past.

But Arthur had no idea about that. He stared wide-eyed at Gaius. He started stuttering and shaking.

'You don't believe that... I thought maybe you... How could he...' Arthur broke off as the events of that day caught up with him. He started crying earnestly.

Gaius was tactful enough to pretend not to see his tears. Gwen was too busy trying to comfort Morgana to notice anything. Arthur let the tears fall freely down his face as he remembered the last things he had said to his servant.

'_Merlin! Just because you have the morning off doesn't mean you can slack off. You still need to polish my armour, clean my room, wash my clothes... And because you were late, you have to muck out the stables.' Arthur grinned wolfishly at his servant._

_'What?' protested Merlin. 'I haven't even got your bath ready.'_

_'Well, make sure it's hot,' said Arthur. When Merlin had carried it up, it had been ice cold._

_The manservant started muttering. Arthur caught a few words such as prat, prince and spoilt, but before he could throw anything at Merlin, the bath was ready._

_He dipped his foot into the water - and yelled when it scalded his skin. That thick-headed dolt!_

_'It's boiling, you idiot!' he said angrily._

_'Well I'm not the one who shoved my whole foot in before checking the temperature,' Merlin said nonchalantly._

_'That's your job! I'll add a bit of cold water for you...' he threw a jug of water at the servant. _

_The icy water splashed all over Merlin. He froze in shock at the temperature. He blinked, to find Arthur's face millimetres from his own._

_'That should've woken you up. When you come back, make sure you're not half-asleep,' said Arthur. He walked away, not bothering to have the bath that Merlin had prepared so quickly. _

What an excellent farewell. "Make sure you're not half-asleep." If only he'd had a chance to say a proper goodbye.

Arthur couldn't believe he was going through so much drama for a servant. A servant! Then again, Merlin was not the usual servant. He was one who talked back and voiced his opinions. He was a servant who seemed stupidly loyal, going far beyond his duties and risking his life for Arthur's more than once. And he was Arthur's friend.

He'd finally admitted it to himself. Merlin was Arthur's friend. It was ironic that he'd realized how close they were to each other only when it was all taken away from him. If only Merlin could come back... If only Merlin was alive...

**AND... YOU KNOW IT... PLEASE REVIEW! :) especially if you're gonna add this to your favourites or something. don't just hit and run, tell me WHY you like it and what you reckon could be improved. **


	3. Decisions

**I LOVE YOU GUYS :) reviews make me happy. BTW last chapter I meant the spellcheck that fanfiction does for you when you upload a document and add the finishing touches. So yeah :)**

'Emrys... Emrys... Emrys...'

Merlin felt like he was bench pressing a truck with his eyelids. When he opened his eyes he felt like he'd been run over _by_ the truck. It was way too bright, and his limbs felt ridiculously heavy. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to roll away from the light, but someone grabbed his shoulder.

'Wake up, Emrys.'

He looked up to see a blurry figure above him. They were inside a tent of some kind... Slowly everything came into focus. The person was the girl who had knocked him out before! He bolted upright, and immediately regretted it when dots danced in front of him.

She gave him a cup of water. Merlin had been too preoccupied before with being kidnapped and everything to notice that every single move she made seemed to be part of a dance. The way she held herself was elegant and graceful, and when she walked it was like watching a ballet dancer.

She was very pretty as well. Her dead-straight hair fell past her shoulders, framing her face with a rich brown-black colour. Her dark eyes seemed to see everything. A cute little button nose was centred perfectly in the middle of her face.

'Take it slowly. You don't want to kill yourself,' she said, laughing softly. Her voice was angelic. Her laugh sounded like a nightingale's song. Merlin found himself wanting to hear her talk some more. He wanted to hear the music that came from her mouth without her even trying.

'How long have I been unconscious?' he whispered. After hearing her voice, his own one sounded harsh and coarse.

'Two days. I apologize if I used more force than necessary.'

'Who are you? What is your reason?' asked Merlin.

The girl didn't answer for a while, as if considering what she should say. 'My name is Katrin,' she began. 'I am a Druid.'

She showed him the symbol tattooed on her forearm. Merlin's eyes widened, but he didn't say anything.

'You have been brought to our camp,' continued Katrin, 'because we believe that you are in grave danger. As of late-'

'Wait!' Merlin held up his hand. Even his desire to hear more of Katrin's voice was not enough to stop his anger. 'You think _I'm_ in danger? Who do you think I am? Why did you have to knock me out?'

Katrin frowned at him slightly. Then a man entered the tent. He swept his gaze over the scene before him, taking in Merlin's frightened expression and Katrin's thinking face.

_My charmspeak didn't work on him_, said Katrin telepathically to the man. _He does have powerful magic indeed._

Merlin could tell there was a telepathic exchange going between the two. But he couldn't hear it. The man nodded vaguely, and Katrin departed.

'I am Cadell,' the man boomed. He was powerfully built and very muscular. Merlin found himself shuddering at the thought of being caught between the man's arms. 'I am the leader of the Druids and the priestesses of the Old Religion. And you must be Emrys, the greatest warlock to ever live. You have had many prophecies foretelling of your appearance.'

'My name is Merlin,' he hissed.

'Merlin. Your magic is radiating from you,' Cadell said, his tone a bit reverent. 'I could sense you miles away. You most certainly are the great Emrys.'

'Merlin,' he corrected automatically.

'Judging by your reaction, it would seem that you have already encountered prophecies foretelling of Emrys... Most likely negative ones.'

Merlin nodded and his eyes clouded over a bit. 'The Great Dragon. A group of Druids... Alvarr. And Mordred.'

Cadell drew in a breath so quickly he made a whistling sound. 'They do not deserve to be recognized as Druids. They are bloodthirsty and impatient. Several times they have attacked us for no particular reason. They are the reason Uther hates magic so much.'

Merlin raised his eyebrows. 'So you have never attacked anyone?'

'Never,' said the leader of the Druids. 'Our group is peaceful. We seek only to live in harmony with each other. That's why we have an alliance with the Priestesses,' he added as an afterthought.

'The Priestesses of the Old Religion?' said Merlin. He remembered Nimueh. That particular sorceress had tried to kill him or Arthur several times, and had then tried to take his mother's life.

'Indeed. You must know that Nimueh left them after the Great Purge. I understand that she had made several attempts to destroy Camelot, but you must understand that we have no responsibility over her actions. I assure you that although the priestesses are well trained and can be rather vicious at times, they are never violent without a strong incentive. In her case, her family was tortured and killed right in front of her...' Cadell's expression darkened.

Merlin looked away. He hadn't had many good experiences with sorcerers and witches. Every single one of them had tried to assassinate either the king or Arthur in some botched attempt for revenge.

'I need to be frank with you, Merlin,' said Cadell. 'The prophecies that we know and have grown up by are no longer valid. You are aware of the prophecies foretelling of Emrys and the King bringing peace and unity to this land?'

The warlock nodded.

'Emrys being you. I know you are Emrys because I can sense how powerful your magic is - how it flows through your very veins. Anyway, we have always lived in hope of the harmony that you would've brought to this land. We had waited, keeping our heads low for the last 20 years in hope that someday, all the waiting would be worth the peace. But I'm afraid that you might not be able to do it.'

Merlin didn't answer. He'd never given that much thought to his destiny and everything. But somewhere, he'd just known that Arthur would be a great king. The prince just needed a bit of help on the way.

'There has been a new prophecy,' Cadell continued. 'It foretells of a prince's betrayal to a friend and warlock. Of untold grief and suffering caused by that very betrayal. And of how that betrayal could jeopardize the future of not only the Once and Future King, but the existence of Emrys.'

There was a silence. Merlin felt like a horse had kicked him in the stomach, making his guts spill into his throat. 'You - you think that Arthur would betray me?'

Cadell put his hand on the warlock's shoulder. 'I know this is hard for you. But it is true. It came from Alvarr's-' his face darkened when he mentioned the name '-Seer. Our own seers have been able to confirm it. But think about it, Emrys. If Arthur found out about your magic, would he really let it go? He's had a lifetime of brainwashing. He believes that all magic is evil. This could not be more wrong, but Uther is unaware of that. Think about it. Would Arthur put _you_, a servant, in front of his values and his duty to his father and king?'

They sat there for who knows how long. Finally Cadell got up. 'I am sorry to be the one to bring you this news. You are welcome to stay here with us and commence lessons for your magic. I only hope that you will prioritise well and make the right decision.'

He left the tent, leaving Merlin to his own thoughts.

**I've put Recruitments on hiatus for this. Actually, no, I've given up on Recruitments for the moment. SO YOU BETTER BE THANKFUL XD. Leave reviews as a sign of your appreciation. :)**


	4. Training

**Merlin's been kidnapped, Arthur finds his 'remains' and is all OH NO I JUST LOST MY BEST FRIEND HOLY MOLY WHAT DO I DO NOW? and then Merlin wakes up to find that he's in a Druid camp and they just offered to train him, because there's this prophecy that Emrys is going to be betrayed by his friend or prince... I can't actually remember. And Merlin's all ARGHHHH DECISIONS DECISIONS! **

_Arthur's had a lifetime of brainwashing. He believes that all magic is evil. Would he put you, a servant, in front of his values and his duty?_

Cadell's words echoed through the servant's head. With all of his heart, Merlin wanted to say that Cadell was wrong. Arthur would never betray him... Would he?

Arthur and Merlin did not have the usual master servant relationship. To anyone, it would almost seem like they were... friends. Best friends. It was a mutual feeling. The two never said anything to each other, but they knew deep inside that they were the best of friends.

But they'd only known each other for a year. Arthur had wanted to please his father for 20 years. Arthur had thought that magic was evil for all that time - he'd had so many magical attacks on his life it wasn't surprising.

Deep in Merlin's heart, he knew that they would never truly understand each other. He was the very essence of what Arthur wanted to eliminate. He could no more get rid of his magic than Arthur could get rid of his heritage. Merlin couldn't stay in Camelot - if he did...

Merlin took a deep breath. He could hear people muttering outside the tent. He had no desire to face them, but he had to sooner or later. He lifted the tent flap and stood up straight.

'I accept your offer to train me,' he said.

It was his first glimpse of the Druids' camp. He'd already seen a different group of Druids, the group with Alvarr and Mordred. The two camps weren't very different.

Both had around 50 inhabitants. Both had the same semi-permanent feel about them, as if they were ready to pack up at any given moment. Both had several house-tents sprawled messily around the clearing, gathered around what seemed like a fireplace.

As soon as he'd made his announcement, everyone stopped in their tracks and stared at him. They had no idea who this boy was. At last Cadell stepped forward.

'We are happy that you have chosen us, Emrys,' he said. A whisper spread through the Druids like wildfire. _Is he Emrys? Emrys, the foretold warlock? '_If you wish, we shall start training now.'

Merlin was rather amazed at the speed at which they went through the day. 'Now? Already?'

'Perhaps you should acquaint yourself with the members of our camp,' said Cadell. He ushered a man with blonde hair and bright green eyes forward. 'This is Pedr. He is the second-in-command at this camp. Obey all of his orders, unless they contradict my own.'

Pedr gave Merlin the biggest dirty in the history of dirties. He could've only been a few years older than the warlock, but he had an air of arrogance that Merlin so obviously lacked.

Cadell didn't seem to notice. He ushered two women forward. 'And these are Anwen and Danielle. They are Priestesses of the Old Religion, and will be assisting you with your training. And I believe you've already met our beloved little lady.' Katrin chose that moment to appear out of nowhere. 'Katrin. She talks to and welcomes any newcomers.'

Merlin smiled at all of them, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He was still wary of the group and especially of Katrin, who seemed like she could talk someone into doing anything.

'Let us commence then,' said Cadell. Merlin tensed, expecting something flashy to happen, such as being teleported somewhere. Instead they walked away from the camp and sat down on some logs.

'What can you do with your magic, Emrys?' the leader of the Druids asked.

The warlock frowned at being called Emrys. 'The name's Merlin. I was born with magic, so I could always do some basic stuff. But Gaius gave me a spell book, and I learnt a lot with that.'

Cadell nodded thoughtfully. 'Not much, I see. But talent. And lots and lots of potential. Well... Start with the basics, as they always say. From now on, you are my apprentice. You will help me with anything I may require you to do. You will study under my guidance, and hopefully realise your potential as Emrys.'

For the rest of the day, they reviewed everything that Merlin already knew. Cadell was impressed by the range of spells that the warlock could already perform proficiently – mostly spells for cooking and cleaning. By sunset, there wasn't a single dirty surface in the campsite.

Dinner, as Merlin learnt, was viewed as a sort of gathering for the entire group. It wasn't so much a meal as an everyday meeting. There they talked merrily and made announcements.

Merlin saw an empty space on the log next to Pedr. 'Hi,' he said, extending his hand. 'I'm Merlin. Can I sit here?'

Pedr looked at him as if he was a particularly nasty insect. 'There's plenty of space on the other side. Go sit over there with _Katrin _or something.'

The warlock's jaw dropped at Pedr's tone. It was outright rude. Merlin scanned the other side of the fire. There was indeed an empty space next to Katrin. He sat down next to her.

'Hey,' she said. 'How was your first day?'

'Not too bad,' he replied.

Katrin saw him giving Pedr a dirty. 'Is he annoying you?'

Merlin frowned. 'Something like that.'

She laughed lightly. 'Don't worry about him. He always hates newcomers -especially ones that have been foretold to be the greatest warlock in all time.'

Merlin smiled half-heartedly, and decided to change the topic. 'When did you first come here?'

'My father saw that I had magic,' said Katrin. 'So he thought it would be best if I were with the Druids instead of a village with Uther and his cronies circling over our heads, watching out for any magic. I came here ten years ago, when I was seven.'

Merlin got the distinct feeling that she wasn't telling him half the story.

'So what's your story?' asked Katrin. For the next hour they talked to each other about their lives. Merlin told her about his occupation as Arthur's servant, and the infinite amount of times he'd saved the Prince's royal backside. Katrin had been surprised, and rather amused, at the thought of the greatest warlock to ever walk the earth as a manservant.

She herself had been the daughter of the chieftain of the village. But she never knew her mother. Apparently her mother had run off a year after she'd been born for no particular reason.

After what seemed like minutes but was actually more than an hour, Cadell called Merlin back. 'Making good friends with Katrin, huh?' he said.

Merlin nodded grudgingly.

Cadell grinned. 'It's like you have instant chemistry.'

The warlock's head snapped up. '_What?'_

'Nothing...' said Cadell, struggling not to laugh. 'Make sure you have enough rest tonight. You'll need it for tomorrow.'

With that, Cadell sent Merlin off to bed. He hadn't even realized how tired he felt until he lay down. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he floated off into the land of dreams, where everywhere he looked, he saw Katrin's face.

**For those impatient people who want to go straight to the bit where Merlin returns to Camelot, skip to ch9 or 10. Ch9 is a 'Merlin is so cool' chapter, and I highly recommend reading it XD. I've posted some bg info on both chapters. =)**


	5. Training, 6mnths later

**As I said before, skip to ch9 if you want to see Arthur back in the story. By then it'll be six years later, and the next four show what happens then in detail.**

**So anyway, Merlin's been accepted by the Druids (or he's accepted them, depending how you look at it) and Arthur's out of the picture for now. **

* * *

><p>'You think his father's an elf?'<p>

'Nah... His ears wouldn't be so big and round otherwise...'

'Maybe his dad's the Fairy King!'

'He would've been claimed already...'

Three young Druids, two girls and one boy, were staring at Merlin from behind some bushes while he was exercising. The former manservant had lost all the clumsiness that Arthur had teased him about so often. Instead, his movements nearly looked like a dance. He had become more graceful than anyone who knew him half a year ago would've thought possible.

Whispers had spread through the group about how Merlin must've had some kind of Faery for a father. Merlin still didn't know who his father was, and nobody else had any clue.

Meanwhile, Merlin was jogging in the forest. He never stumbled anymore – he'd learned to read the forest with its trees and animals as if it were part of him. He kept a wary eye out for any other people apart from the three _very _obvious children spying on him. Recently, some knights of Camelot had been riding through this area. It would never hurt to be extra careful.

Suddenly, a blood-curdling cry sounded from above him. Merlin looked up to see a figure leap from the tree and hurtle towards him like a bullet.

Quickly he sidestepped her. She dropped on the ground in a cat-like stance and snarled at him. Merlin gathered his remaining energy. He'd already gone running for an hour, but if he could just defeat her...

She swung her fist at his nose. He easily blocked it, and kicked her shins at the same time. But she beat him. Her knee slammed into his stomach, winding him. He gasped for breath, and then took a blind jab at her neck while kicking her chest with the sole of his foot. She blocked both attacks with her arms, leaving herself wide open. Merlin instantly took the opportunity and punched her face, as hard and as fast as was humanly possible. Too late he saw the grin on her face.

'_Gwarchod!' _she cried out.

Merlin's hand slammed into an invisible barrier. He cried out as he felt his fingers crunch under the pressure, then stumbled backwards. In a flash, she stuck her foot behind his ankle. Too late he felt the imbalance, and he flailed around before falling flat on his bottom in a very un-graceful manner.

She held out a hand, and he took it. When he was halfway up, she dropped him back onto the ground. But he was prepared for that. As he fell, he twirled in the air and kicked towards her general direction. He felt his foot collide with something. He looked back to see her standing still in a guarded poise with his foot still connected to her crossed arms.

'You're getting better, Merlin,' she said.

He took her hand and pulled himself up. 'Maybe it helps that you launch about fifty surprise attacks on me every day.'

The priestess grinned evilly. 'You still need to find the balance between magic and none. Even you will get there eventually, dopey.' Anwen tossed her hair and walked off.

As she was passing the bushes, she whispered into them, 'he's noticed you already.'

Merlin looked behind him to see three shame-faced kids around 10 years old emerging from their hiding place. He recognized two of them as newcomers, and the other boy as Jamie, who'd grown up with the Druids and practically worshipped Emrys.

'You're...' squeaked one of the girls. 'You're really good, sir.'

Jamie nodded vigorously. 'Yeah. You nearly defeated Anwen!'

Merlin smiled. 'Don't call me sir. And I still have a long way to go.'

'I heard that you can do any type of magic,' said the other girl. '_Without spells!'_

'Well - only some of them,' said Merlin. He was rather uncomfortable with all the attention he was getting.

'And you've only been here for six months!' Jamie said in awe. His expression was close to reverent.

Katrin chose that moment to materialize - literally - next to Merlin, using a teleportation spell. 'Merlin, we need help back at camp. Run along, kids.' She winked at them, and they obediently hurried back.

Merlin sighed in relief and slipped his arm into hers. 'Thanks for saving me.'

Katrin smiled. 'Just accept that as the most powerful warlock to walk the earth, you'll be getting a lot of attention.'

He laughed. 'Never got that before, as Arthur's servant. Actually, I kind of miss Camelot and all its crazy people.'

'Really?' said Katrin.

Merlin's eyes seemed to cloud over a bit. 'Gaius was like a father to me – much like Cadell is now. He always knew what to do, whether it was a magical, physical or emotional problem. I just want to know how he is... what he's up to right now...'

Katrin wrapped her arm around Merlin's body and gestured with her other hand for him to keep talking.

'And I really miss Arthur. He was one of my best friends, and he had a good heart. I really thought he'd be a great king. He treated everyone like dirt, but there were moments where he really shone. And then... things changed. I hope he didn't get a bootlicker for a servant.'

'Yeah,' said Katrin softly.

'And then Gwen and Morgana... I just want to know if they're alright. I want to tell them everything's alright over here. I really miss all of them.'

It was a really tender moment. Merlin turned his head down and was about to kiss Katrin when a blob of light flew towards the couple. It shattered about a metre's length away from them.

A woman stepped forward. 'Good job with your shield, Merlin.'

'Danielle,' said Merlin. 'You just completely ruined the moment!'

'Well,' she said. 'As your trainer, Anwen and I have to train you to be on alert _all the time.'_

Merlin sighed in defeat. He couldn't go anywhere without the two throwing daggers and casting spells at him. He'd learned to walk around with a protective charm around himself.

Katrin grinned at the exchange. 'You know what, Merlin? Come to my tent tonight and I'll show you something.'

**I know this is a short chapter, but review? *puppy eyes***


	6. Training, the past

**I'm sorry if I was mean in the last chapter's A/N. I DIDN'T MEAN YOU DEE! I LOVE YOU **

**But anyway Arthur's not coming back into the story until, like, ch10. Read ch9 for a bit of background info. You can skip the next few chapters, but personally I like them so I'll post them anyway. **

**THANKYOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS. 50 reviews for just 5 chapters is... is... is MIND BLOWING O.O THANKYOU AGAIN**

As Merlin was walking towards Katrin's tent, he was stopped by Pedr. The second-in-command was standing in his path about a metre away, and was glaring at him fiercely.

'What do you want?' Merlin asked wearily.

'I want to tell you,' said Pedr, his bright green eyes gleaming, 'that you're not any better than the rest of us. Just because Cadell took you under his wing as his assistant and you're particularly talented, doesn't mean he favours you. He favours _me. _Don't you ever forget that.'

Pedr jabbed his finger into Merlin's chest, who stepped back. He stalked off, and left Merlin alone. The warlock stood in shock for a moment, then continued to Katrin's tent.

'Merlin!' greeted Katrin when she saw him enter. 'Come here! Check it - what's wrong?'

Merlin's expression must've been more sombre than he realized. 'Nothing. Don't worry.'

'Oh...' said Katrin. She'd learnt to read Merlin like an open book. 'Well, Pedr does appear to be going out of his way to make your life miserable. He's just jealous that Cadell's paying so much attention to you. He was always the favourite. But look here! You can see anything from here!'

They looked into the mirror that Katrin was holding. At first, all Merlin could see was his own reflection. Then the image shimmered and instead, he saw the castle of Camelot. He gasped.

Katrin grinned. 'Scrying takes a lot of practice, and I haven't done it for a few years now. But you can see pretty much anything from this mirror.'

'Really?' said Merlin hopefully. 'Can you show me Arthur?'

The 'camera' seemed to zoom in on a corridor. (**Yeah, I know that peeps in the Arthurian times would so know what a camera is=) **Merlin leaned closer, and recognized it as the corridor to Arthur's chambers. The camera seemed to go through the door, and then he could see Arthur sitting at the table eating dinner. All seemed well. No catastrophes had happened in the six months that Merlin had been gone. Then Arthur's head jerked up and looked directly at him. Merlin jolted. Arthur's mouth moved, but Merlin couldn't hear anything.

A few seconds later, a servant that Merlin recognized as one of the castle servants, Stephen, walked into view. Arthur glared at Stephen and seemed to start piling chores onto him. All Stephen did was bow deeply with a poker face. His lips moved in an all-too-familiar fashion - "Yes, my lord".

Merlin chuckled. Obviously Arthur didn't appreciate Stephen's boot-licking. Although it seemed selfish, he hoped fervently that Arthur missed him.

'Can you show me Gaius? Morgana? Gwen?' Merlin asked quickly.

'Sure,' said Katrin. She whispered a few words, and the image on the mirror changed once again. Gaius was mixing potions, as always. He glanced towards a door at the back of the room. Merlin felt a tinge of homesickness as he recognized his room. When he looked inside, he saw that it was completely empty. The once messy room had been cleared of all his possessions. Even his bed had disappeared. Gaius must've thought that Merlin was truly gone.

Gwen and Morgana were preparing for bed. Gwen was brushing Morgana's hair, and they were talking happily. They laughed a few times, and then suddenly their expressions became sad. Merlin couldn't hear what they were talking about, but he had a good guess.

'So, there you are,' Katrin said. The mirror seemed to shiver. Morgana and Gwen's image blurred, and turned back into Katrin and Merlin's reflection.

Merlin didn't say anything for a while.

'You could thank me,' suggested Katrin.

'Oh, yeah...' said Merlin stupidly. 'Umm, thanks.'

Katrin laughed and pulled him towards her open arms. 'That's why I love you, dopey.'

Merlin stiffened, then kissed her lips gently. 'Why, thankyou. I know you do.'

'You know,' said Katrin suddenly, 'I was scrying for a few moments before you came. I looked at your father.'

'What?' said Merlin.

'Well... I should tell you a bit more about my own family. My mother used to be the Princess of the Faery Court. Then she came to our dimension and-'

'Woah,' interrupted Merlin. '_Princess of the Faery Court? _'

Katrin frowned thoughtfully. 'Let me show you something through the Scrying Mirror. It actually used to be my mother's, you know...'

* * *

><p>Glinda pulled her coat closer to herself and bowed her head against the cold, bitter wind. Snowflakes were starting to descend from the pitch black sky and onto the bumpy dirt road. Normally the snow would be beautiful, but right now it was the last thing Glinda wanted to see.<p>

Her decision to temporarily renounce her position as Princess had been impulsive and rather foolish on her part. She was angry at her father, and she wanted to see the world. Or, the other world. Known as Earth. Her next decision to not use a rubber was even worse. That wasn't his fault, though, she'd pressured him. Anyway, a 7-month pregnant woman without any medical attention was asking for trouble. She really needed to see her friend.

'Who's there?' a voice called through the darkness. A man came into view, and with the fabulous eyesight inherited through the Royal Faery Family, she saw the very face she was looking for.

'Balinor!' cried Glinda. She stumbled towards him, although it really looked like she waltzed.

His face visibly relaxed. 'Glinda! What brings you here?'

'I... I need help...' To Balinor, it sounded like she was singing. In reality, her voice was about to die off and she was about to slip into unconsciousness.

'Certainly. Keep talking, your voice is as beautiful as ever-'

Then Glinda collapsed.

Balinor observed the beautiful figure before him. Her luscious blonde hair settled around her head perfectly, and her skin was flawless. Had her eyes been open, they would reveal a heart-stopping hazel colour. Her face was the model of all artists. Even her baby bump fitted her nicely. Well, being the Faery Princess, she would be beautiful and graceful and all that.

Not that Balinor wanted her. He already had someone. A special woman called Hunith.

Glinda's eyes fluttered open. She somehow made waking up look elegant. Any ballet dancer would've looked up to her.

'So,' said Balinor. Glinda sat up immediately. 'How are you?'

'You know,' she said. Her voice was like a nightingale's. 'Same old. Got boring at home. Ran away. What about you?'

'I'm alright,' replied Balinor. 'Magic has been banned in Camelot. Uther hunted me down like a frog hunts dragonflies. Came to a village outside Camelot, Ealdor. Found a woman.'

Glinda smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. 'That's pretty crazy. Eventful, and full of fun compared to my life.'

'Your life is full of longevity and wisdom and - well -'

'And your life has a beautiful and special woman,' cut in Glinda. 'I see that you love her very much.'

Balinor's eyes grew tender. 'Yes... Hunith is her name. I love her more than my life. The baby's due any day now.'

Glinda felt her heart plummet into her shoes at the thought of her own baby, but she plastered a smile onto her face. 'Really? What's the name going to be?'

'If it's a girl - Meryl. If it's a boy, which I am most certain he is, then his name will be Merlin.'

She nodded. 'Merlin... I like the ring of it. I'm pregnant myself, but I'm not due for another couple of months. I know she's a girl. I'm naming her Katrin.'

Balinor grinned. 'To Merlin and Katrin. The two children of the infamous Dragon Lord Balinor and the beloved Faery Princess Glinda!'

* * *

><p>'What kind of ending is that?' said a rather annoyed Merlin when the image faded. 'You didn't really tell me anything!'<p>

'But it's so cool!' said Katrin defensively. 'Your father was a Dragon Lord and my mother a Princess! And they knew each other!'

Merlin started barrelling questions at her. 'How did they know each other? What happened after? Where are they now?'

Katrin looked thoughtful. 'Actually, someone put barriers on a lot of the memories. I can't find either of their locations right now... Your mother, Hunith, is still in Ealdor. But what I did gather was that my mother used to have a lot of visits to this world, and she was good friends with Balinor. Who actually has Faery blood, but he's not really a Faery. Sort of like me. Anyway, Glinda got a bit sexy with my father, who was the chieftain of a village, she became pregnant, she lost her temper with her own father who was the King of the Faeries, she ran away from the Faery Court, she came back to our world, she wanted to talk to Balinor and make him father me somehow because he was part Faery, but he already had you, so then she went back to my father, I was born, and a year later she returned to the Court. That's pretty much all I know.'

'So my father's part Faery?' said Merlin. It was the only thing he'd managed to gleam out of Katrin's rampage. 'Which means I'm part Faery?'

'Your father's a Dragon Lord,' said Katrin simply. 'That means you're a Dragon Lord. All Dragon Lords have a bit of Faery blood in them. And as you should've heard, everyone with Faery blood is quite beautiful and graceful.'

Merlin laughed and patted her shoulder. 'Like you.'

Katrin grinned in reply. 'Yes. Indeed. But you can be as well... You just need a bit of training for that.'

'Not more training,' groaned Merlin.

'Well, you definitely need more training in how to kiss properly,' said Katrin. They laughed, then stayed together for the rest of the night, talking about anything and everything.

**BOO-YAH! I MADE MERLIN INTO A FAIRY! **


	7. Training, 2yrs later

**Haha. Sorry if I'm boring you. Welllll... enjoy!**

The tent had a lone occupant inside. He was hidden in the shadows, almost invisible. Anyone walking by wouldn't give him a second glance, as he looked like he was part of the furniture. However, on closer inspection, he was anything but unnoticeable. His bright azure eyes and raven hair stood in contrast to his milky skin. His lean but muscular frame seemed to be the body of an elite athlete. He held himself gracefully, poised like a gymnast. His movements were elegant, as if he was dancing.

What this particular person was doing was hiding. Unfortunately for the person looking for him, he was very good at hiding.

'EMRYS!' Anwen screeched. 'YOU LITTLE... COME OUT, MERLIN!'

Merlin had no intention of obeying her.

'I SWEAR, WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU, I WILL SNAP YOUR LITTLE NECK, DRAG YOUR BODY THROUGH THE FOREST AND LEAVE YOU TO BE EATEN BY THE SERKETS!'

All the more reason for him to stay hidden.

The tent was yanked open. Anwen cast her eyes over the inside and let them rest on a small bundle in the corner. 'Gotcha,' she said, an evil grin splitting her features.

She pounced on Merlin, screaming wildly. In her right hand was a dagger that gleamed maliciously. Merlin quickly conjured a dagger, and blocked Anwen's blows. There was a furious scuffle for a few seconds, until he managed to execute a disarming move. Anwen's dagger flew out of her hand and buried itself into the wall of the tent.

Silence.

'Well, there's one less way you could die,' said Anwen dryly. She turned away and started heading out the tent. Before she exited, she looked over her shoulder at Merlin. 'You haven't been forgiven, _Emrys. _Next time I'll pounce on you when you're asleep. I'm watching you. _Always_ watching you.'

Still looking at him, she pointed two fingers firstly to her eyes, and then towards Merlin. He breathed a sigh of relief. What she'd said was Anwen speak for 'you've completed this lesson. Well done.'

'What happened?' Katrin burst into the tent. 'I heard yelling and then... Oh.' She saw Merlin with a dagger in his hand.

He grinned. 'What do you mean, oh? Shouldn't you be concerned that I nearly got sliced into a human salad by Anwen?'

Katrin laughed. 'You've long surpassed her. She knows you're better than her at close combat. That's why she never holds back - she knows she'll never defeat you again.'

Merlin pulled her towards him. 'You always know what to say, Katrin.'

'Where would you be if I didn't?' she said cheekily, and hugged him tightly.

Katrin thought for a moment, and then spoke, her head still buried in Merlin's jacket. 'Well, for archery, that's a different story,' she said, her voice muffled. 'If I were your target, I'd be more concerned for the people behind you than for myself.'

'Well...' shrugged Merlin.

Whispers had passed through the camp about Merlin and Katrin. The only two with faery blood in the entire camp, which had grown significantly since Merlin had joined two years ago, had suddenly become the 'it' couple. Both of them moved more elegantly than any human could wish to. Their grace, poise and even appearance resembled the elves of the legends more than anything else.

'Katrin!' Pedr poked his head into the tent, and frowned when he saw the two making out. '_They_ decided to drop by for a visit.'

Immediately the couple pulled apart. 'What do they want?' asked Katrin harshly.

Pedr shrugged. 'Probably want to kill us. Cadell wants to talk with them, and he's going to bring both of us.'

'Is this the group with Mordred and Alvarr?' interrupted Merlin. He'd already had a couple of experiences with the Druid boy and his camp, and the last one had _not_ been pleasant. Arthur had charged into the camp and slaughtered everyone on sight. As the supposed Emrys, Merlin should've protected them. But he hadn't. And now Mordred was his sworn enemy.

Pedr glared at him. 'Yes, the group that you _had_ to make enemies out of.'

'Leave him alone!' snapped Katrin. 'It wasn't his fault.'

'I'm sorry if I have made it any harder for you,' said Merlin, who sounded anything but sorry.

The second-in-command hesitated. 'Cadell is waiting for us, Katrin. We should go.' He left.

Katrin shot Merlin an apologetic look. 'I'm sorry.' She turned away, but Merlin caught her arm.

'If they're your enemies, then I should come with you. I can't just let you walk out there,' he said.

'When they see you, they're bound to want to kill you for what you did. Besides,' she grinned, 'I'm better at talking than you.'

Merlin let her slide out of his grasp. He stared at her retreating figure. Yes, she certainly was better at talking smoothly than him. She had more Faery blood, and therefore had more smoothness. But she wasn't half as powerful as the most powerful warlock to ever walk the earth. No way was this her last word to him. He cast a listening spell on her as she went out of the tent.

* * *

><p>'What do you want?' said Cadell harshly.<p>

'Can't we reside where we like without having you biting at our heels like some rabid dogs?' said Alvarr coolly.

Pedr snorted. 'I don't think you will be residing with nothing but weapons.'

No one from Alvarr's group had even bothered coming forward to meet the trio. Therefore, the three of them could see the entirety of the other group and their possessions. Which was nothing but weapons.

'We are taking a break from destroying Camelot,' said Alvarr indifferently. 'All our other possessions have been destroyed because _someone _let them.'

They all knew he was talking about Merlin, when he had let Arthur and his men destroy their camp a couple of years ago. Katrin could feel herself seething at Alvarr's barely disguised excuses.

'Leave now,' said Katrin quietly. 'We have no desire to harm you. But if you leave us no choice...'

She didn't need to complete her sentence.

'Then what?' a boy's voice said. 'What would you do then?' It was Mordred.

'They would _attempt _to kill us,' sneered Alvarr. 'Well, let us return the favour.'

Too late the three of them realized what he had said. Katrin froze on the spot, while Cadell stood in a defensive position. Alvarr thrust his hand out, and his eyes turned a molten gold.

'_Avada kedavra!' _

Katrin was struck by a green light, and she collapsed immediately. Cadell swore and had just enough time to cast a protective barrier. He grabbed Pedr with one hand and Katrin with the other, then had a moment of indecision. If he tried to teleport, he would have to remove the barrier. If he tried fighting his way out, he would need to cover for Katrin.

That moment of hesitation was all Mordred needed to cast a counter-spell to Cadell's shield. As soon as the leader of the Druids felt his charm being undone, he disappeared in a flash of silver light. As he was de-materializing, something went into his back. He felt it pierce his skin, but too much adrenaline was rushing through his system for him to feel any pain.

Merlin cursed from the camp fire. He couldn't see what was happening. He could only hear Cadell chanting and Mordred screaming and Alvarr yelling... What happened to Katrin? What about Pedr? Not that he particularly cared what happened to Pedr. In fact he'd kind of hoped that Pedr had been injured or something...

Cadell appeared in a halo of light beside him. Merlin's heart leapt into his mouth. Pedr looked a bit shocked and seemed completely uninjured, but Katrin... Katrin was unnaturally still...

Cadell coughed, and blood splattered onto the ground next to Merlin. He fell to the ground. Merlin immediately caught him, and saw the hilt of a hunting knife on the right side of his back and a fast-spreading stain of scarlet on his white shirt. Merlin's heart jumped into his throat, but he forced himself to stay calm.

'Danielle!' he yelled. Danielle was the best healer in the camp. Merlin looked at Katrin, who still hadn't moved. He checked her pulse, but she didn't have any. His breathing became alarmingly fast. In, out, in, out...

'What happened?' he rasped to Pedr.

Pedr was still in a state of shock. 'They attacked us. They cast a Killing Curse on Katrin. Someone threw a dagger into Cadell's back.'

'Merlin!' Danielle burst into the clearing. 'Oh no... Move Cadell into my tent at once!' she ordered.

Pedr automatically obeyed her, leaving Merlin alone with Katrin's still body. He was in too much shock for any major reaction. How could her life be so senselessly thrown away? With just some simple words, she had been killed. Just like that. Her life snuffed out.

After a few minutes of sitting there with Katrin's body in his lap, Merlin heard someone behind him.

'Merlin?' called Anwen's voice softly. She sat next to him and Katrin. 'I heard. I...'

She was never good with emotions. _Oh, darn it!_ She thought. _How could this happen?_

'We should let her rest properly,' said Merlin, his voice surprisingly strong. His breathing was uneven and something was pounding in his head, but he kept his face expressionless.

Anwen nodded silently. The rest of the camp had gathered around, absolutely silent. Merlin conjured a basket, and set Katrin inside. He took one last look at her beautiful face and her perfect hair. Then the basket closed on itself, enclosing her completely. Anwen put her arm around his shoulders. He remembered the time Katrin had first shown him how to scry. They had spied on the citizens of Camelot, and then on their parents. It had taken him quite a while to get the hang of it, but Katrin's mirror was enchanted so it would be easier. That had been such a long time ago. The good old days...

Merlin said a few words, and the basket was enveloped by an electric blue light. Anwen tightened her grip on him. The basket, along with Katrin, completely disappeared into the place Merlin had chosen as her final resting place.

Then there was silence. The sun was still shining, and the cicadas still chirping. It was a beautiful day. Much too beautiful.

'Let her rest in peace,' murmured Anwen.

Something glinted on the floor. Merlin looked down at the reflective object. It was Glinda's mirror - passed onto Katrin. He picked it up and blew off the dust on the surface. His own bright blue eyes stared back at him. Then the tears started falling.

Anwen squeezed him tightly. 'I'm here for you, buddy.' She punched him affectionately. She turned and left, leaving Merlin to grieve for Katrin.

**Sorry, I just killed Katrin. I couldn't find a place in the story for her :(**


	8. Training, man out of you

**Katrin's just been killed and Cadell is cremating his way out of creation... hmm, my alliteration isn't that great. Enjoy! **

It was raining by the time Danielle came out of the tent where Cadell was lying. 'He has a few more minutes,' she said gravely. 'He wants to talk to you.'

She left. Merlin stared at the tent for a few moments, then entered. Pedr was sitting in the corner, his eyes red. Cadell was lying on the bed, and even from where he was standing Merlin could tell that he was having trouble breathing.

'Mer... Merlin...' Cadell whispered.

Merlin pressed Cadell's hand to his own chest. 'Yes?'

How could this be happening? First Katrin, now Cadell. He had never seen that strong, confident man look so pathetic. Instead of inspiring hope in his people and ordering them about, Cadell was on the brink of death.

'I'm sorry... About Katrin... I know you loved her,' he rasped.

Pedr suppressed a weird sound, almost like a sob. Merlin didn't turn around, but he could _feel _Pedr's grief radiating off him.

'You know... Pedr... I've always thought of you as my son...'

Pedr moved opposite Merlin and clutced Cadell's other hand. 'And I've always looked up to you like a father.'

'Then you'll... Understand my decision... Merlin... Will be the next leader...'

Merlin didn't bother stopping his tears. He wouldn't be able to bear it if both Katrin and Cadell died. 'No. Cadell, you're going to get all better, then jump up as if nothing had happened, say this was all a joke...'

'I'm sorry... I know this must be hard for you... Katrin and me are both dead... And we all know it... Listen - some things you will have to sacrifice when you're the leader... You may have to give up personal wishes... For the greater good of this group... Be responsible for the group's safety and have their best interests at heart always...'

Cadell turned his head to Pedr. 'And you will support him in his decisions... Stay as second-in-command... You've done such a great job all these years...'

Pedr jutted his chin out a bit. 'I will, Cadell. I promise to serve Emrys with my life.'

Cadell closed his eyes. 'Yes... Merlin, accept your destiny... You are Emrys... All-powerful warlock... Use your power well... With great power comes great responsibility...'

Merlin nodded, tears streaming down his face.

'I love both of you... More than you could imagine...' Cadell's breathing slowed.

'I will always remember you,' said Pedr.

'I will always care for the group,' said Merlin.

'We will always keep your legacy alive,' they said together. 'Your dedication, your loyalty, your unending fountain of wisdom and love that protected us. We shall always honour your memory.' _(AHAHA… CHEESY ALERT… THAT WOULD'VE SOUNDED SO REHEARSED IN A MOVIE :L)_

Cadell nodded, and his breathing slowed. Finally he stopped moving completely. They bowed their heads and stood in silence for seconds, minutes, hours. It became darker. Danielle gently lifted the tent flap up.

'Cadell,' she breathed. Her eyes filled with unshed tears. 'Merlin. I-'

'Emrys,' he said.

'What?'

Emrys lifted his head and his brilliant azure eyes seemed to bore into Danielle's brown ones.

'My name is Emrys,' he said.

**Ahh, sniffle your hearts out. But before that, **REVIEW PLEASE! ** **


	9. Departure

**For the lazy people who skipped straight from ch4 or 5: Merlin has just had everyone he loves killed (what's different from the show?) and he's accepted full responsibility for the group. So now he refuses to go by the name Merlin, so he's Emrys instead. It's been six years since Emrys was kidnapped from Camelot, and four since he's been the leader of the group.**

**For the awesome people who stuck with me through the last four chapters: I LOVE YOU =D**

**For the absolutely amazingly awesome people who have reviewed every chapter (Loopstagirl and merlingirl have cut it close) - I would give you the moon and stars :3**

The young man was sitting a few metres above the ground on a tree, legs stretched out along the branch. One arm was flung out on another branch, the other was holding a bundle of papers. Lucia admired the elegance and grace he held himself with, how every move he made seemed to be part of a dance. When he spoke, it sounded like he was nearly singing, even when he was trying to yell. His voice was musical, angelic, beautiful.

Lucia thought she loved this young man like no other. The way he moved and spoke, the way he was kind to people of lowly status such as her, made her love him all the more.

'Emrys,' she whispered. She had climbed up the tree so that she was level with him.

He looked up. Oh, how she loved his face. His sweet blue eyes. His tousled hair. Everyone who set eyes on him were enchanted by his beauty straightaway. And although she knew she had no chance, Lucia still loved him. His best feature was his eyes; deep as the ocean and bluer than the sky, she felt her heart beat wildly whenever she looked into them.

'Lucia,' he said, and smiled. The girl felt herself smiling back unconsciously.

'What are you doing?' she asked.

'I'm reading some reports about Camelot,' he replied. He frowned slightly. 'You already told me, but this confirms that they are still executing anyone with the slightest sign of magic, although I personally made sure all the sorcerers were out of the city.'

'Indeed you did, milord.'

Emrys smiled faintly. 'I'm no more your lord than King Uther is,' he said, gently lifting her chin.

Lucia could feel her heart pounding. 'Sorry. Old habits die hard.'

'I understand. I once was a serving boy as well,' said Emrys.

Lucia looked up in confusion. 'You were? But you were born with - with-'

'Yes, I was born with magic,' Emrys said, making a movement that should've been interpreted as swatting a fly, but looked more like he was doing a dance move. 'I just didn't know how to use it properly until the Druids took me in six years ago.'

The girl nodded. She had only stayed at the Druids' camp for a year and a half, so she didn't know Emrys' story. She thought he had always been their leader.

Emrys deserved to be their leader. He was kind and understanding. He never overlooked even the least important of them, always having everyone's best interests at heart. He was brave and noble. He had once fought Cenred and his army off by himself so that the camp wouldn't have to fight. Not only that, Emrys had been foretold to be the greatest magical being for centuries.

'I think a trip to Camelot would take my fancy,' said Emrys with a cheeky smile. 'I would like to convince the royal family to stop their incessant executions.'

Lucia looked up, aghast. 'But if we get caught there, we'll be executed!'

'All part of the fun,' grinned Emrys.

The girl gaped at him wordlessly.

Emrys' cheeky demeanour dropped. 'Innocent people shouldn't have to die because of Uther's vendetta. Don't worry. I'll place charms so you can't use your magic accidentally. Besides, I know the prince. I'll talk him around somehow.'

The warlock stood up and walked away confidently. Lucia stared at his retreating figure. He'd known the _prince?_

As Emrys walked away from Lucia, he made sure his dagger was in an easily accessible area. Even though he could easily defeat Anwen, she always liked to spring surprise attacks on him. And on anyone else in the group that was stupid enough to not suspect her.

* * *

><p>'So why didn't you tell me that you're going to Camelot?' Pedr burst into Emrys' tent and eyed the warlock fiercely. 'Lucia, a newcomer of four months, had to tell me instead!'<p>

'Yes, I told her to,' said Emrys. 'It's a rather impulsive decision on my part...'

'_Rather?_ It's very impulsive!' snapped Pedr. 'Don't tell me you just want to visit your old home.'

Emrys' expression hardened. 'Don't tell me not to save all those innocent people's lives,' he raged. 'Besides, Camelot was not my old home. Ealdor was. Camelot was a place where I was forced to pretend to be someone I was not, forced to hide my magic for fear of my life. Camelot was the place where I got to be the Prince's manservant. I definitely do _not _want to visit it again. I don't think you or Lucia want to, either, but this is our responsibility. We must stop Uther from his crazy fear of sorcerers.'

He stormed out of the tent. Pedr gaped at the spot he occupied a few seconds ago. Emrys used to be the Prince's manservant? He and Lucia were _going with him?_

Lucia. She had been at the camp for four months, and yet she was already one of the most respected Druids of her age. She was only fifteen. Most people thought this was because she looked so much like Katrin.

Katrin, who had died four years ago. The whole camp mourned her absence. Especially Emrys.

* * *

><p>A year ago, when Emrys had been well settled into his position as the camp's leader and Lucia had just settled in, Cenred and his men attacked the camp.<p>

A soldier who supposedly deserted Camelot tipped Cenred off about the possibility of a group of Druids in the area where the camp was. It was a clever move on Camelot's part, because Camelot wouldn't have to lift a finger and hopefully Cenred would take the bait, and then the Druids and Cenred would kill each other off - two of Camelot's worst enemies eradicated.

When the camp got an alarm from one of their magical barriers set up around the forest, they had been in complete turmoil. There wasn't enough time to pack up the camp and leave, and all of the powerful sorcerers had left on their yearly training sessions in a different area. Everyone but Emrys were inexperienced and young magic users.

In the end Emrys went by himself to fight off Cenred. Lucia was meant to stay back, but she couldn't resist going. What she saw next was both beautiful and terrifying. Emrys conjured a shield so that nothing could touch him. He sent out bolts of magic and killed the soldiers. His arms danced as he cast the spells, eyes blazing gold, and not once did he raise his voice. He calmly defeated the hundred men and afterwards he wasn't even out of breath.

Lucia had never looked at him the same after that. Even though she still fancied him, Emrys was so stupidly powerful that he would never even glance at a tiny bug like her.

But Lucia was wrong about that. Emrys had chosen _her_, a teenager who could barely manage her own magic, to go to Camelot with him and Pedr. She couldn't get to sleep that night. She was so pumped up.

In 12 hours, she would be leaving for _Camelot!_

**_And you know it... REVIEW! _**


	10. Camelot

**For some reason, I got more reviews in the last chapter than the previous four combined. Nah, not quite that dramatic, but you know what I mean. WHY DON'T YOU LIKE THEM? I LOVED WRITING THOSE CHAPTERS =( **

**Whatever, I don't really care. Well here's some nice juicy return-to-Camelot stuff.**

* * *

><p>The city of Camelot was busy with preparations for the visiting nobles. The supposed 'nobles', including a prince, a princess and a manservant, had told the king that they were from a land far south, and they were passing through to see how their sister city fared. Of course, King Uther couldn't quite remember those nobles visiting previously, but there were always too many for him to remember. Who was he to refuse the political advantage he would have if he took care of the prince of a foreign province?<p>

The nobles would arrive at any minute now. He'd sent Arthur and a few knights to welcome them in, as he couldn't decide what to wear for such an occasion.

* * *

><p>The horse carriage bumped over a log. Its occupants bumped along with it. Emrys twirled some magic around his fingers absent-mindedly. Lucia studied Emrys' new face. Pedr smiled awkwardly. The carriage-driver was whistling merrily.<p>

Silence had filled the carriage. It was very rarely silent around Emrys, who always knew what to say.

Emrys stared out onto the fields that lay before them. The group had travelled even further from Camelot than he had thought. It was about a week's travel from the camp to the city. Five days had already passed. He'd sent a messenger ahead to inform Uther of their visit, and the king had accepted gladly.

He turned his thoughts onto his friends in Camelot. He'd heard that Gwen was still Morgana's maid. Gaius was still the Court Physician, and Arthur was still the Crowned Prince. No changes at all; not even anything slightly dramatic. That was quite amazing, seeing as he hadn't been in contact with Camelot for over six years.

Would that six years and a bit of magic to give him a new face be enough for them to not recognize him? Would Arthur? Arthur, his master and best friend, whom he had sworn to serve? Would Gaius? Gaius was like a father to him. They knew each other as well as they knew themselves. Would Emrys' magic be enough to stop any recognition?

Lucia studied Emrys. He'd used magic to rearrange his own features. She could still see him underneath that, but that was probably because she had such a massive crush on him that she saw his face - his old face - in her dreams every single night. Making out with her.

Pedr had completely blanked out. His mind had stopped functioning altogether, leaving him with a really awkward expression on his face. He didn't want to remember all the terrible memories he had of Camelot, so he'd blocked them.

All of them were snapped out of their thoughts - or non-thoughts in Pedr's case - when Emrys somehow set Lucia's dress on fire.

'Emrys!' she screamed. 'Get some water!'

His eyes widened. He'd used magic already, five minutes after he told everyone not to!

'_Diffoddwych,' _he muttered, and the flames died down. Then he put a spell over himself that would stop him from using any magic.

'Sorry,' said Emrys to the other two in the carriage.

'No harm done,' said Pedr. 'Just try not to do that again in front of King Uther.'

All three of them smiled. Just then the carriage stopped. Someone opened the door and helped them out.

Emrys blinked in the bright afternoon sun, and then looked in wonder at the castle before him. It was exactly as he remembered it. Majestic and beautiful, the flags flying from every single tower. Civilians bustling around him. Guards slacking off when they should've been patrolling. He could feel tears of longing and nostalgia welling in his eyes...

'Snap out of it!' Pedr nudged him.

Immediately Emrys turned his attention to the prince that was walking down the stairs to welcome the incoming party. They looked at each other at the same time and locked eyes...

Arthur locked eyes with the most handsome man he had ever seen, except for himself of course. Muscular but lean, luscious blonde hair, deep sea blue eyes, a healthy glow to his perfect, tanned skin. He was wearing the most expensive clothes that Arthur had ever seen. Then a jolt went through the Arthur. The man's eyes... They were the same deep blue eyes as a very dear friend of the prince. A very dear, but most definitely dead friend.

Arthur narrowed his own eyes. No, it couldn't be. His friend had big, round innocent eyes. This man's eyes were almost cat-like, and seemed as if they had seen many things. His friend was lanky and pale. This man was lean but muscular, and his skin was almost golden. His friend was clumsy and very often stupid. This man was graceful and had an air of wisdom around him.

But... Their face shape was the same. The prominent cheekbones were the same. And the eyes... The eyes that seemed to always make Arthur feel lost.

'You must be Prince Arthur,' the man said.

The prince almost tripped at the sound of his voice. It was the voice of an angel! His friend _never _used to speak like that. 'Y-yes,' Arthur stammered.

The man inclined his head slightly. 'I am Prince Emrys. This is my sister Lucia-' he gestured at the girl, who squeaked, '-and this is my servant Pedr.'

Pedr frowned at Prince Emrys.

'Feel free to use his service anytime you wish.' Prince Emrys smacked Pedr on the back. He stumbled a bit.

'Or feel free to shut up, _sire_,' the servant snapped.

Arthur's eyes widened at that. He expected Emrys to order Pedr into jail for a few weeks or something, but the other prince merely grinned. Arthur found himself thinking about six years ago, where he'd had the exact same relationship with his former servant...

'Well...' said Arthur, at a slight loss for words. 'Welcome to Camelot. Come to the Great Hall, and my father will welcome you there.'

Lucia and Pedr looked terrified, as if he'd told them they had been accused of using sorcery and were about to be burnt at stake. Emrys shook his head.

'Oh no,' said Emrys. 'We are all exhausted from our journey. Please, if we may go retire to our chambers.'

Arthur gave them a quizzical look, but he nodded. 'Very well. I will have my servant help you with your baggage. Hey, Stephen!'

A rather chubby man with light brown hair stepped in and expertly took their baggage. 'Glad to be of service, milords,' he said, bowing deeply.

Emrys glared at him. _This _was what he'd been replaced with. A bootlicker.

'Um... Where are your quarters?' Stephen asked uncomfortably.

'We can take it up ourselves,' said Emrys coldly.

Stephen looked very confused at Emrys' behaviour. 'If you wish,' he said. He didn't even forget to bow.

As soon as Emrys took his bag off Stephen's arms, he felt like his arms were going to fall off. He had to admire the new manservant's strength – he'd always had endurance and flexibility, but never strength. All the more reason to hate him.

As 'Prince' Emrys stalked off, Stephen whispered to Arthur, 'I think he doesn't like me!'

BREAK

'Bootlicker, flatterer, doormat, yes-man...'

'Parasite?' suggested Pedr.

Emrys clicked his fingers. 'Parasite! Wait...'

'What do you have against Stephen anyway?' asked Lucia. She looked outside, half-thinking about how short the days were up north.

'He usurped my position as the Prince's manservant,' said Emrys darkly.

Pedr snorted. 'I thought you didn't like being Arthur's slave. Besides, the two suit each other.'

Emrys snapped his head towards Pedr. 'You think so? You think he's a better servant?'

'I really can't imagine you as a servant,' said Lucia. 'Maybe as the Prince's friend. Maybe as his commander. But definitely not as his servant.'

'Which means yes, Stephen is a better servant,' concluded Pedr.

'Just like you are,' muttered Emrys. Too late he realized he'd said it out loud and that he wasn't talking to someone who could protect their weak spot – he wasn't talking to someone like the prince of Camelot.

'_What?'_

Lucia looked genuinely fearful of Pedr's murderous expression.

'I was joking!' defended Emrys. 'I was saying that you suit the role of a servant perfectly.' His jab at Pedr didn't seem to turn out too well.

Pedr advanced on him, his expression alarmingly deadly. Suddenly he smiled brightly. 'On the other hand, I can tell Stephen about how terrible Arthur's old manservant was. And what a great job he's doing as Arthur's current servant.'

Emrys stared at him.

'You can see how well Arthur's doing without his precious _servant_,' continued Pedr. 'Just imagine how terrible that servant must've been.'

'Stop it!' Emrys stood up and glared at Pedr. He'd gotten uncomfortably close to the place that still hurt.

They had a staring contest, Russell Crowe-style, and Lucia shrivelled fearfully into the background.

Pedr smiled like a predator about to pounce. 'You've always thought of me as your servant. You took me for granted, and let's see how it feels now.'

He calmly broke eye-contact and left the room. Lucia wondered how the atmosphere changed so quickly, and Emrys wondered how they could jab each others' weak spots so easily. Pedr had always been bitter about being second-in-command to Emrys, but this was the first time he'd ever talked about it.

Emrys sighed and lay on his bed, still in his travelling clothes. 'Go to sleep, Lucia. We'll have a big day tomorrow.'

She nodded and blew out the candles.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Arthur lay on his own bed, thinking about things that had composted in the back of his mind for six years. His former manservant, his sudden disappearance one day and then Arthur's discovery of his death.<p>

The visiting prince, Emrys, had looked so similar to him. Something about the way Emrys moved and talked reminded Arthur so much of his servant, even if they couldn't be more different. And then those eyes... those blue, blue eyes that always made him want to throw something at his servant, or change the world, or blurt out his deepest secrets... those eyes made him feel completely lost.

And then the way Emrys and his servant had interacted – they were obviously very close friends. It was exactly how Arthur had treated his old servant. Admittedly, that mostly involved bantering and throwing things at each other, but in the end the two knew they were the best of friends.

At last he couldn't stand it, and he got out of bed. He took out a blank scroll and wrote a name on it.

_Merlin. _

**Are you guys interested in all those little subplots with Stephen and Pedr? Or do you just want to get straight to the juiciness of Arthur and Merlin? (NON-SLASH, PEOPLE. I DON'T DO SLASH, OKAY?)**


	11. Burnt

**So, after a brief stint of laziness, I'm back! XD **

**Emrys has come to visit Camelot, Arthur is like WOAH WTF YOU LOOK LIKE MERLIN... BUT YOU'RE NOT MERLIN... ARE YOU...? And everyone else is just like they were back in season 2. **

**Speaking of seasons, hands up who liked the first couple of episodes of season 4? Because I didn't. They weren't as angsty as I would've liked. Angst, angst, angst!**

* * *

><p>The next morning Arthur was up an hour earlier than he usually was up, which was <em>early<em>. Stephen, his manservant, hadn't arrived yet. Arthur sat in his bed for half an hour, then finally got up and decided to walk around Camelot for no particular reason.

He saw Emrys coming back through the gates with his snow white horse, looking absolutely composed and cool as a cat.

'You're up early,' they both said at the same time.

'I always get up this early,' they both said again. That was a lie on Arthur's part.

Arthur paused awkwardly, waiting for the other prince to speak first, and then the sound of Emrys' laughter filled the air. It was sweet and musical, and Arthur thought that he could've sat there and listened to him for hours.

After a couple of minutes of standing there and laughing, Arthur had an idea. 'I'll show you around Camelot,' he said. 'It's a very beautiful city and I would love to be your host.'

Emrys' grin got even wider, which Arthur thought would've been impossible. 'That would be great.'

Arthur showed him the magnificent stables, the lively lower town, and then led him to the palace, all the while chattering away like a tour guide. Emrys seemed to drink up every word he said. They were walking through the corridors of the palace when they met up with Gaius, who was doing his rounds. Arthur smiled politely and introduced the other prince and Gaius. The physician glanced at Emrys, and did a double take.

'M-morning,' stammered Gaius. 'Are you the visiting prince from the northern kingdoms?'

Emrys bowed deeply. 'I am indeed. I have heard many great things about you from Arthur, and I am very pleased to meet you.'

Gaius gaped like a goldfish. 'I-is that so?'

Emrys gave him a quizzical look, but looked more amused than anything else. 'Well, I won't disturb you from attending to your patients. Arthur and I shall move on. I'll see you around.'

'Bye,' said Gaius, sounding extremely intelligent.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Emrys raised an eyebrow at Arthur. He stayed silent for a few seconds. Arthur knew full well why the physician had been surprised by the other prince - it was his uncanny resemblance to a much loved friend who had died several years ago.

'You look very similar to his ward,' explained Arthur at last.

'Really?'

Arthur could feel the painful memories pushing their way up. 'His name... was Merlin. He used to be my manservant.'

'What happened to him?'

'He left,' he said simply. _He'd left this life, without even a goodbye._

Emrys gave Arthur a funny look. 'Do you miss him?'

Arthur could feel something forcing its way up to the surface of his mind. Pain, grief, loss... and Emrys' ocean blue eyes that seemed to see everything certainly didn't help. 'Yes,' he said simply. As soon as he said that, he realised it was more than he'd ever admitted in the last six years, to Gwen, to his father, or even to himself.

'He was a good friend,' said Arthur. _He was my best friend._

Emrys nodded understandingly, somehow reading between the lines and getting Arthur's implicated meaning. 'He'll come back. You're obviously very close.'

Arthur clenched his fists but tried to keep his face expressionless. 'He was killed by wild beasts six years ago. He won't come back, ever.'

'Oh…' said the other awkwardly. 'I'm sorry…'

A short pause where Arthur thought about those two short years he'd known Merlin – then he shook his head. 'Moving on... Look out the window here. It's the courtyard where sorcerers are executed for high treason against the king.'

They both looked out the window to see a young woman and her mother standing next to a stake. There was a small crowd around them, and the executioner stood near with a lit torch in his hand. King Uther towered above them on a balcony.

Emrys gave a weird sound. Arthur looked at him to see his face twisted into an expression that he couldn't quite identify... pain? Regret?

'Is she going to be executed?' rasped Emrys.

Arthur didn't answer. Suddenly the young woman lunged forward towards Uther, screaming hysterically. They couldn't hear what she was saying, but it looked something like: I'm innocent!

Her mother started sobbing and gesturing wildly at the king. The young woman had tears streaming down her face, her expression desperate. _Please! I'm innocent! I'm not a sorceress!_

Uther looked at them coldly. He said something, hatred filling his entire face. He signalled the executioner, who dragged the young woman to the stake. She struggled desperately and tried holding on to her mother. The older woman fought the executioner, but he was much too strong for the two women. They were both hysterical, and still Uther paid no attention.

As the burly man tied the young woman up and lit the flames that engulfed her, she wailed louder and louder. _No! I'm innocent! Let me go! _And when she realised Uther wasn't letting her go, an expression fell across her face; utter hopelessness. _It can't end like this..._

Arthur looked at Emrys again. The prince of Camelot saw sorcerers being executed on a regular basis, but he knew that many other people had never even seen a dead body, let alone an execution. 'Are you alright?' asked Arthur.

Emrys kept staring at the courtyard. The crowd was slowly dispersing now, leaving the young woman's mother sobbing hysterically by the lit stake.

'I've heard about your king,' said Emrys slowly. 'How his orders are absolute, and you must not disobey them under the pain of death.'

'Well, it's not quite as harsh as you put it…'

'Is that why he executed the young woman?' asked Emrys angrily. 'Is that why you execute small children, barely even five years old?'

Arthur had already carefully constructed an argument for this. 'Sorcery is banned in Camelot,' he defended. 'This young woman made the wrong decision and the children had the wrong parents. They learnt a dark art, and if given the chance both would become evil.' He'd told this to himself over and over again as he watched the executions, and now he half-believed himself.

'How many times have you told yourself that?' asked Emrys. Arthur's eyes widened. It was as if the other prince had seen right through him. 'Magic isn't evil. It's the wielders who are.'

'What, like a sword?' said Arthur, a bit angrily.

'Exactly like a sword,' said Emrys, his piercing blue gaze holding Arthur's. 'And I'm sure you know it. You're a good person, Arthur. You're not the same as your father.'

Woah. That sounded uncomfortably similar to his old manservant. Arthur voiced his thoughts, in an attempt to draw the subject away from magic.

Emrys allowed a tiny smile to curve his lips. 'So not only do I look like him, I sound like him too. How am I _not _like him?'

Arthur wasn't sure if Emrys knew what he was doing, but he played along anyway. 'Well, you're not as clumsy as he was,' said Arthur, thinking of his manservant's most obvious feature.

Emrys raised an eyebrow. 'You never know. He might've secretly been a sorcerer, and because he had to save your royal backside every night he didn't get enough sleep and was clumsy.'

Arthur stared at him in shock. Firstly, Emrys had used the words _royal backside._ Secondly, he had again brought sorcery into the conversation.

'I'm joking!' said Emrys. He gave a half-chuckle, and Arthur rolled his eyes.

'You and sorcery,' muttered Arthur.

'No,' said Emrys. 'It's me and executing innocent people.'

'People who have sorcery are not innocent,' stated Arthur.

Emrys narrowed his eyes. 'Would you have executed your old manservant if he _did _have sorcery?'

Arthur let out a choked laugh. 'He didn't! He was much too clumsy to learn sorcery.'

Emrys' eyes were like slits now. 'I've heard some are born with sorcery. What _if _he had magic? Would you have executed him_?'_

Arthur made full eye contact. 'Quickly and without hesitation.'

Emrys laughed. After a few seconds, Arthur joined in. Then suddenly Emrys leapt to the window and stared at someone. Naturally, Arthur looked outside as well. He saw the other prince's servant, Pedr, standing near the stake where the young woman had been executed. It might've been the sun, but for a moment, Arthur could've sworn that Pedr's eyes were a molten gold colour.

Emrys muttered a swear word. Louder, he said, 'I got to go. I'll see you later, Arthur!'

He ran towards the exit of the palace, leaving a thoroughly confused Arthur standing in his wake.

* * *

><p><strong>Dun-dun-dun! What has Pedr done now? <strong>

**Review? Pleaseeeeeeeeee? =) **


	12. Citizens of Camelot

Pedr watched as the young woman threw herself at the king, screaming her innocence. He watched as the executioner tied her up to the stake. He watched as the flames started to lick her feet.

And at last he did something. Pedr muttered a spell to transport her outside Camelot's gates, while leaving a dummy in the fire so no one would notice she'd left. It was a complicated spell, and it would require him to keep feeding it magic for at least one minute. He looked down so no one would notice his molten gold eyes.

When he neared the end of the spell, Pedr looked up. At that exact moment, he locked eyes with Emrys, who was standing at the window and watching the scene. Pedr's eyes were still gold from the magic, and there was no way Emrys wouldn't notice such a spell being performed. _Holy crap._

As expected, Emrys came rushing to him in less than three seconds flat. 'What did you do?' he demanded angrily.

'Nothing,' said Pedr innocently. 'Listen, about last night-'

'Last night doesn't matter,' interrupted Emrys. 'Did you just transport that girl out of Camelot?'

'Possibly,' answered Pedr. 'I didn't mean what I said last night. Well, I kind of did, but just not that harshly...'

Realizing that Pedr wasn't going to let that go, Emrys sighed. 'It's ok. I know you didn't mean to bring it across in that manner, and I promise that I'll try not to treat you like my servant anymore. Now, you idiot, what on earth did you do?'

Pedr visibly relaxed. 'Thankyou. You see, I was just bitter about not becoming the leader-'

'Pedr!' Emrys growled.

'Right, the girl!' said Pedr. 'I couldn't let her burn!'

'You can't get us burnt either!' said Emrys.

'Didn't you come so that we could stop this kind of thing from happening?' said Pedr.

Emrys didn't know what to say. He was slightly annoyed at the way Pedr had used his own words against him, as well as Pedr's triumphant smirk. He was saved by Arthur's appearance.

'Emrys? Is everything okay?' asked the prince.

Emrys made a mental note to reprimand Pedr later, and turned to Arthur. 'Sorry about that, sire. It's nothing.'

'Sire?' said Arthur in confusion.

Emrys inwardly cursed. As a prince, he shouldn't have addressed his fellow prince as "sire". His habits as a manservant were still there after six years.

'Slip of tongue,' said Emrys, a bit too quickly. 'I think an opportunity to train with your knights would take my fancy. The knights of Camelot are renowned for their courage and skill.'

Arthur smiled as he realized where the conversation was leading. 'Really?'

Emrys bowed slightly. 'And if possible, I would like to duel the ultimate knight. You.'

Arthur hesitated, and then returned the bow. 'Don't get killed.'

Emrys gave a grin worthy of the devil. 'Same to you.' And already in his head he was going through a few thousand different spells he could use to slow down time and cheat.

BREAK

Meanwhile, Lucia was introduced to Morgana. Although there was an age gap of more than 10 years, King Uther apparently thought it would be appropriate for the two princesses to spend time with each other. And so they were stuck in Morgana's bedroom, brushing each other's hair in awkward silence.

Emrys had told Lucia about Morgana. She was the king's ward, and often she had dreams which would prophecies the future. She'd always been scared that she had magic, and Emrys suspected her fear might turn her evil in the future.

Ironically, there was a prophecy about Morgana and a sorceress called Morgause. It said something about their collaboration being the destruction of Camelot. For some reason, when Emrys heard the prophecy, he had gone completely out of his way to find Morgause and tell her to steer clear of Camelot. He'd taken Lucia with him, of course.

'So…' said Lucia, breaking the silence. 'Has anyone ever tried convincing you to betray Camelot? Anyone with blonde hair and huge bug eyes?'

Morgana gave her the strangest look. 'No…' she said slowly.

'Any plans to destroy the world? Anyone called… _Morgause_?'

Morgana stood up. 'What are you suggesting? Tell me this moment who you are talking about!'

Lucia realised she'd taken things too far. 'I – I-' She took a breath, her brain whirring through several stories she could make up. 'I've had nightmares. Terrible, terrible nightmares.'

Lucia desperately hoped Morgana would fall for her clumsy acting skills.

She did. 'What?' Morgana gasped. 'You too?'

'I always had dreams,' said Lucia, looking down into her lap. 'And sometimes they would become true. It can't be magic, but it's just terrible, feeling like you know who's going to die next or which city's going to burn down.'

Morgana's eyes widened. 'I always used to feel like that! The dreams started when I was ten years old. I was terrified… I thought I had magic, and I thought Uther might execute me for that. The dreams lasted for quite a while, until six years ago. Then it just… stopped.'

Lucia was dumbfounded at Morgana's outburst and didn't know what to say. 'Really?'

'Don't worry,' said Morgana. 'I'll keep your secret safe.'

Lucia nodded dumbly.

'Funny thing is,' said Morgana, 'I always had this kind of _feeling _that came with the dreams. And last night, before you and Emrys came, I had that feeling again. I was dreaming about this boy… this servant-boy… and Emrys looks so similar to that servant-boy…'

Lucia's jaw dropped. They'd entered deeper territory than she expected.

'His name…' said Morgana, 'was Merlin.'


	13. Swordplay

**Grrrr. Life serves no purpose anymore. Stupid SC exams. Emrys is going to show Arthur for once and for all that he is NOT Merlin. Enjoy ~~**

As Arthur and Emrys headed towards the training fields, Arthur tried showing off how much he knew about chivalry and swordsmanship and all that, but Emrys replied with bantering that made Arthur shut up. Emrys thought about how similar their relationship was even though it had been six years since they last talked.

When they reached the armoury, Emrys looked around in awe. This was the place where he'd spent hours polishing Arthur's armour, and now it seemed he had several personal suits of armour.

Arthur noted his expression. 'Like it?' he asked.

Emrys nodded. 'We don't have anything like this at home,' he said, sticking as much as possible to the truth. 'We always fight without armour.'

'You live in a strange place, my friend,' said Arthur jovially.

They looked at each other, Emrys half-smiling at Arthur calling him "friend". There was a moment of awkward silence. Then Arthur couldn't stand it, and he dashed to one of his suits of armour and, handing it over to Emrys.

Emrys stood there awkwardly with the armour dangling off his arm. 'Ehm…' he said. Although he was the most-powerful warlock to ever walk the earth, Emrys had no idea whatsoever how to don a suit of armour. He'd had plenty of experience putting it on other people, but never on himself.

'Do you know how to put it on?' laughed Arthur. 'You look even more confused than Merlin did on his first day.'

Emrys froze. Arthur realized how many times he'd referred to his old servant that day. He quickly helped

Emrys put on his armour, then put on his own suit. It was the first time he'd done it without Stephen's help and he was surprised by how difficult it was.

'Let's go,' said Arthur. They walked to the training field, where they were greeted by several knights.

'You know how to use this, right?' asked Arthur jokingly as he handed a sword to Emrys.

'Just because I don't wear armour,' muttered Emrys. But he felt uncomfortable with the length and weight of the sword, and preferred the ease of a small dagger.

'We'll start off easy for you,' said Arthur. 'Ready?'

Emrys nodded, turning the sword by its handle, trying to find a comfortable position. Arthur suddenly swung his own sword towards Emrys' head, and he managed to dodge at the last moment. Sheesh! That was close. Lucky Anwen had always drilled it into him to expect the unexpected.

A couple of knights laughed, but Arthur's eyes widened. Emrys had been completely unprepared, but he'd managed to move so quickly, and so gracefully.

'You said you were ready,' said Arthur mockingly. But there was no heart in his words; Emrys was _fast_. Even as the best knight in Camelot, he admitted that his opponent was speedy.

Emrys was still trying to find a compromise with his sword. 'Knight's Code indeed,' he said. He couldn't cast a spell while Arthur was watching him so closely, but his years of training and physical conditioning had certainly paid off.

Emrys feinted an attack, and Arthur fell for it. He performed a complicated move and somehow tripped Arthur over. While he was falling, Emrys cast a spell to make his sword extremely light. Arthur rolled on the ground, springing back up. They faced each other off, pacing around in a circle.

The knights watched in apprehension. This Prince Emrys was good. His sword seemed a bit off balance, but his speed made up for it…

Arthur lunged in. Emrys quickly parried the blow, but the sudden weightlessness of the sword unbalanced him. Arthur disarmed him, and his sword flew back over his head. Arthur pointed his sword at Emrys' throat. They stood motionless for half a second, and then Emrys rolled backwards. He cast a spell to slow down time while picking up his sword.

Emrys saw Arthur attacking again, but this time it was as if someone had pressed a slow motion button. He could immediately see Arthur's openings and quickly went for them. In the next second – next several seconds for Emrys – he managed to disarm Arthur, push him backwards, trip him onto the floor, and end up with his sword pointing at Arthur's throat.

The knights stared in awe. That had been_ pure awesomeness_. Emrys had literally moved too quickly for them to see.

The two young men stayed in that position, with Arthur lying on the ground and Emrys towering above him, for a few seconds. Then Emrys stretched his arm out to help Arthur up. They'd only been fighting for half a minute, but both were heavily panting.

'I didn't get killed,' mocked Emrys.

Arthur took a few more gulps of air. 'No one's defeated me for nearly a decade,' he said, still breathing heavily.

Emrys shrugged. 'Rematch?'

Arthur attacked again, but time was still going slowly for Emrys. He beat Arthur again. He grinned at the feeling of pointing a sword at his old master.

'You…' said Arthur. He attacked once more, and again Emrys came out the victor.

'Third time _un_lucky,' said Emrys.

'How… You…' Arthur was unable to articulate himself. 'How good are the knights in your kingdom?'

Emrys shrugged again. 'I'm the best one.' He thought about saying something about being the most powerful warlock to walk the earth, but he didn't think Arthur would appreciate the reference to magic.

Arthur shook his head in disbelief. 'You're amazing. I thought I was good…'

Emrys laughed. 'Of course you would, you prat.'

Arthur nearly dropped his sword. 'What did you say?'

Emrys realized what he'd called Arthur and tried making something up. 'Prat… you know, what you call egotistical princes like you or I…'

Just as he said that, Morgana came to the edge of the field. 'Arthur!' she called. 'Arthur-'

Shee stopped short when she caught sight of Emrys.

'Well I'll see you later, prat,' said Emrys. 'Better get ready for the banquet tonight.'

He walked off, with Morgana staring wide-eyed after him. Emrys sent a telepathic message to Pedr. _Come to my chambers to get ready for the banquet. And start calling Arthur a prat! He's suspicious._

BREAK

As soon as Pedr received the telepathic message from Emrys, he headed straight to Emrys' chambers. He was slightly worried about Emrys confronting him and rambling on about the stupidity of saving someone accused of magic, with magic. Pedr had spent the entire afternoon searching for the said person. Perhaps he'd successfully saved her life, but now he had absolutely no idea where she was or what to do with her.

He turned a corner and nearly crashed into a very grubby Emrys. 'You!' he gasped.

'Me,' said Emrys amiably. It seemed that Pedr still hadn't gotten over their little argument. 'Have you found the girl?'

'No,' said Pedr, finding a sudden interest with the way his shoes were tied.

'Is that her?' asked Emrys, walking towards the corridor window and pointing at the courtyard below. Pedr rushed over and made a funny sound. Emrys watched as he ran down the stairs, towards the girl. Pedr didn't seem to wonder why the girl hadn't been re-arrested. It was because Emrys had cast a spell to make everyone in Camelot forget that they had ever accused her of sorcery, except for the girl herself, as that may have been considered an invasion of privacy.

'The things I do for you,' muttered Emrys. He smiled as he watched Pedr gingerly introduce himself to the girl, thinking about what a cute couple they would make. And then he proceeded to get ready for the banquet, without Pedr's help.

**My reviews dropped down for the last chapter. ARE YOU STILL THERE? HELLO? **


	14. Banquet

**Ah, the reviews you all gave me were lovely. Could you please keep it up? :D **

**So far, Merlin's been missing for six years and Arthur's all but forgotten about him. Emrys, a "prince" from some faraway land, has come to visit Camelot. Arthur is like HOLY MOLY YOU LOOK LIKE… nah, Merlin's dead. And now they're dining at a banquet. **

**Oh, and Pedr (Emrys' "servant" who is really a Druid friend) rescued a girl who was about to be executed. For sorcery, of course. **

Noisy. Emrys couldn't believe how noisy it was. Laughing, screaming, the clink of metal forks against metal plates - Emrys wondered how he survived as a manservant in these banquets.

'Having fun?' said Arthur mockingly. Evidently he'd noticed Emrys' discomfort.

'At least I'm not serving anyone,' said Emrys, glancing at Stephen. The prince's manservant seemed to be everywhere at once, serving the king while holding the next course on one arm. He was even talking to Lucia while he was at it, who was sitting on the other side of the table to Emrys.

Arthur noticed the direction of his gaze. 'Yes, this servant is much better than the previous one was.'

Emrys looked at him in shock.

'I'm joking!' said Arthur quickly, and did a fake laugh. 'Come to think of it, where's Pedr?'

With the impeccable timing gifted only to fictional characters, Pedr burst through the side entrance, conveniently located next to Emrys' seat.

'Present!' he said, a bit out of breath.

'Pedr! How nice of you to grace us with your presence!' said Emrys. Softer, he said, 'the girl?'

Pedr lowered his voice so only Emrys could hear, while Arthur watched them suspiciously. 'Her name's Katie. She's from the lower towns, but she's not going to return any time soon as her neighbours had accused her of sorcery. She's staying in your room right now - is that alright?'

Emrys tilted his head. 'Aside from the fact that you didn't ask me beforehand, yeah, fine.'

Pedr grinned and melted into the crowd of servants. Emrys turned back to Arthur. 'So how often do you have these banquets?'

'Not much,' replied Arthur. 'Every time a visitor comes over.'

Just as he said that, a huge plate with a roast boar came to the table. It was upside down with an apple in its mouth. Six years ago, Emrys would have felt his mouth watering, but all he felt now was revulsion for the dead animal on the table.

'Delicious,' said Arthur. 'Come over more often so we can have more of this.'

Emrys clenched his hands. 'This is wrong,' he said. Arthur looked at him in surprise. 'That used to be a living creature. It used to live in the forest, a part of the circle of life.'

'I-I'm sorry,' said Arthur uncertainly.

_Merlin… Merlin…_

'What?' said Emrys.

'You're right,' said Arthur. 'We shouldn't take the lives of animals-'

Emrys dismissed him with a wave. 'No, did you hear that?'

_It is I, Merlin… Come down to where I am, Merlin…_ Emrys felt his mood drop as soon as he recognized the voice. Arthur, on the other hand, was completely baffled.

'Hear what?' the prince asked.

Emrys pretended to frown and look confused. 'Never mind. It must've been my imagination.' He felt the voice tugging at his mind again, calling his name. 'I need to go to the bathroom,' he said. He quickly stumbled out of the banquet hall, leaving a thoroughly confused Arthur.

Emrys made his way through the corridors, feeling himself being pulled by the presence of the being. He didn't – rather, he couldn't – check for any servants wandering around the palace. He was struggling to merely keep hold of his own consciousness.

At last he reached the underground tunnels. A strange breeze greeted him, accompanied by a strong feeling of déjà vu. This place was…

_Merlin! Hurry up! _

Emrys shook his head and lit a torch with his magic. He glided down the steps, and tried remembering his other lifetime when he had come here. He'd woken up in the middle of the night to find a cryptic giant lizard who had told him, wrongly, that it was his destiny to protect Arthur.

'Merlin,' the Great Dragon roared.

'My name is Emrys,' he yelled. Even though he was speaking at the top of his voice, he sounded tiny and weak compared to the dragon's boom.

'And still you insist on deluding yourself,' it boomed. 'You have strayed off the path. The path that I had lit for you, the path that several of my predecessors had lay out, brick by boring brick, right in front of you.'

Emrys inwardly sighed. Even after six years, the dragon had still maintained its obsession with overly descriptive metaphors and cryptic riddles. 'The path has been broken,' he threw back. 'My destiny and all that you harped on about are no longer valid.'

The dragon roared, its fury overwhelming. Although it was chained up and Emrys knew of several spells to keep it that way, he couldn't help but feel a quiver of fear at the dragon's power and might.

'Your eyes are merely too blind to see it!' it roared. 'You do not know what you are talking about, young warlock!'

'Look here,' said Emrys. 'I am sick and tired of your cryptic riddles. I am not Merlin, the other side of the coin. I am not the one to bring peace to Albion. I am Emrys, a mere warlock.'

'You dare defy the chains of destiny?' roared the dragon. 'You dare ignore my words? You are but a youngling, untested in the ways of the world! You know _nothing_!'

Emrys nodded angrily. 'Yeah, that's right. I know nothing. I don't know how to bring peace to Albion or be the greatest warlock to ever walk the earth. I don't know how to fulfil my destiny. All I know is that I will _never _listen to you again_._' He turned and walked away.

'Merlin!' the dragon boomed. '_Merlin!_'

Emrys kept walking away.

'You _will _return, Merlin!'

Emrys stopped, but didn't turn around. 'No,' he said softly, half to himself. 'I will never return to Camelot.'

**BREAK**

'That was a very long toilet break,' remarked Arthur as Emrys came stumbling back.

Emrys rolled his eyes and took his seat. The dragon was still tugging at his mind, but he'd managed to set up some spells to stop Kilgarrah's voice from drowning everything else out. However, the dragon's magic was much more powerful than his, and he didn't quite manage blocking its whole presence.

A voice interrupted his thoughts. 'Are you alright, Prince Emrys?' asked Stephen, Arthur's manservant.

Emrys glanced at him and felt a surge of dislike well up in him. This… _bootlicker_… had replaced him. Emrys had never meant to leave Arthur's side. He would have been happy to stay with the prince until he became king, and long after that.

Something must've shown on his face, because Stephen recoiled and apologized hastily. He resumed his duties, and seemed to grow an extra pair of hands while he was serving Arthur and the others.

Emrys was grasped by a sudden desire to leave. He didn't want to see Arthur acting so normal and Stephen serving him so efficiently. He didn't want to see Camelot functioning so well. He didn't want to see how everyone was doing great without him. Each second seemed to drag out painfully.

Thankfully, the banquet only lasted for a couple more minutes. Emrys was vaguely aware of Uther standing up. It was suddenly silent and his voice carried out through the hall. Emrys was grateful for the silence. He didn't need to talk or hide his identity behind lies.

Arthur looked at him in obvious worry. Emrys realized the tiredness he felt was showing on the outside. He wanted to leave Camelot. The place was so draining and tiring, not to mention the giant lizard trapped downstairs, trying to break through Emrys' mental barriers.

Uther's speech lasted an eternity. Then Emrys heard applause, and he forced his hands together. As everyone started to leave the hall, Emrys gestured at Lucia and Pedr to meet him in his chambers.

In the huge crowd departing from the hall, Emrys managed to get separated from Arthur, Lucia and Pedr. He inwardly sighed, and started making his way to his chambers. The dragon's voice was still raging inside his head.

Suddenly he realized that his feet had brought him to the physician's quarters. Not to his own guest chambers, but to his old home. Gaius' home.

The door was closed, and voices were wafting through the cracks. Emrys lifted his hand to open the door. He hesitated, but instinct took over and he pushed it open.

**I may or may not have used Eragon references… with all the mind-control and everything… and I may or may not have used a line from Paramore's song Brick by Boring Brick...**

**Review please? :) Pretty pretty please, because reviews make me update faster :)**


	15. The Physician

**Alright. I'm sorry. I haven't updated for a couple of months. Forgive me? With reviews? XD**

**And I just realized the plot-hole about Gaius and Emrys - let's just pretend that Gaius hasn't heard of the name before.**

**If you've forgotten what's happened so far: Merlin got kidnapped, six years later he comes back as Emrys. He's really cool and BAMF and everything. No one recognizes him, of course. And then after a banquet with Arthur (because he came as a prince, ofc there's a banquet!) he wanders around the castle and goes to Gaius'. Naturally. **

Emrys lifted his hand to open the door to the physician's quarters. He hesitated, but instinct took over and he pushed it open.

Morgana and Gaius turned around to see the foreign prince standing at the doorway.

'Ah,' said Gaius. 'Prince Emrys.'

He nodded. 'Milady. Gaius.'

'How may I help you?' asked Gaius.

Emrys blinked at him, and then realized he shouldn't have visited the physician if not for medicine. 'No, no, please help milady first. She was here before me.'

Gaius smiled. 'Very well. Make yourself at home.'

Emrys smiled back, and looked around. It was exactly the same as when he'd left, six years ago. The indiscernible array of potions, the scrolls lying haphazardly around the room, and even the back door that led to his own room.

'So the nightmares came back last night?' asked Gaius to Morgana.

Emrys made his way slowly to the back door. He was almost afraid to see what was inside.

'Yes,' said Morgana. 'That's the first time in… what, six years?'

Emrys slowly pushed the door open. He didn't want to arouse suspicion, but even with all his magic he couldn't discretely cast a spell on what he couldn't see.

Gaius hmm-ed. 'I wonder what it would be. I haven't given you any medicines for the last month. Ah, sire, please don't go inside there.'

The foreign prince turned around. For a moment Gaius could've sworn that his eyes were gold - that molten gold colour magical beings acquired when they used their magic. But it was gone so quickly, that Gaius told himself he was imagining it.

'Sorry,' Prince Emrys said. 'I was just wondering what it was used for.'

'That used to be my ward's room,' said Gaius. It was an explanation well used ever since his ward went missing. He turned back to Morgana. 'Now, let's put you back on a sleeping potion. If the dreams come back tonight, I'll make you something stronger.'

Morgana nodded quickly, looking a bit apprehensive. 'Thankyou, Gaius.'

Gaius stood up to look for the sleeping potion. The lack of conversation suddenly made it awkward.

'Funny thing is,' said Morgana as Emrys took a seat, 'I had a dream about your ward, Gaius. For your information, Prince Emrys, his name was Merlin. You look a lot like he used to.'

'He passed away six years ago, right?' asked Emrys. It seemed to Gaius as if he were making a statement, not a question.

'Arthur told you?' said Morgana. 'I guess he would. They used to be very good friends. In my dream, Merlin was slacking off his duties in the forest. Then he got kidnapped by some hooded men, and possibly a girl who was their accomplice. I think… I think they were sorcerers.'

Gaius noticed Emrys' face acquiring a carefully constructed blank expression. It was what he often saw on diplomats' faces, when they knew they could not afford to show any of their emotions.

'That was the worst part,' continued Morgana. 'But after, I saw Merlin was safe. He was just standing there, but not like he was waiting for something. It seemed like he was wishing.'

'Wishing for what?' Emrys asked, his voice expressionless.

Morgana shrugged. 'I'm not sure. This was hardly a nightmare, in any case.'

Gaius glanced at Emrys, attempting to read his body language. He was unsuccessful. He gave the sleeping potion to Morgana. 'Hopefully this will stop any of those dreams, milady. Have a good night.'

'Thankyou,' said Morgana. 'I'm sorry for boring you. Good night, Gaius. Good night, Prince Emrys.' She got up and walked out of the physician's quarters, her long dress bellowing behind her and her heels clacking against the floor.

There was silence after she left. Gaius studied Emrys, especially his eyes. They were so familiar… so nostalgic…

'Could I have some balm for cuts and scrapes?' asked Emrys, snapping the old man out of his thoughts.

Gaius had a plan. He found the balm, then started walking extremely slowly towards Emrys. Once he made sure the foreign prince was watching, he did an elaborate fumble and dropped the balm. It seemed to fall in slow motion.

The physician carefully studied Emrys, while the latter's eyes widened as he saw the balm dropping. Emrys slowly rose, each millimetre taking an aeon to complete.

Then the glass container smashed.

The sound broke Gaius out of his slow-motion reverie. 'I'm so sorry, sire,' he mumbled, bending down to brush up the shards. He couldn't believe that his plan didn't work. Emrys didn't catch the container with magic. Could it be, that Emrys wasn't Merlin?

'No, no, it's okay,' said Emrys. 'Let me help you.' He knelt next to Gaius and helped him sweep the floor.

'I'm truly sorry,' apologized Gaius again. He looked up and made eye contact with the prince. '_Siarad y gwir_,' he said, his eyes flashing gold as he directed the Old Religion around his body.

Emrys flinched.

'Tell me the truth,' said Gaius. 'Are you Merlin?'

Emrys would be unable to lie under the influence of the spell. However, if he truly was Merlin, he would be able to break the spell, but it would make his eyes flash gold in the process.

Emrys opened and closed his mouth. Gaius could imagine the shock anyone would feel about the physician casting a spell on them.

'Alright,' said Emrys. 'You got me. I'm who you used to know as Merlin. _Dadwneud sillafu_.' He cast the counter spell, making his eyes turn into a molten gold colour.

Gaius stared at him in disbelief. 'Merlin? ... I thought you were dead!'

Emrys shrugged. 'The part of me that used to be Merlin died a long time ago. All I am now is Emrys.'

'What...' Gaius broke off, cleared his throat, and started again. 'What happened to you?'

The tanned, handsome face of his former ward, the face which used to be pale and lanky, hardened. 'My destiny happened. Turns out I don't have one after all. Arthur won't be the Once and Future King, and Emrys will not support him. Albion will never be united.'

'Merlin...' Gaius reached out to put his hand on Emrys' shoulder.

He avoided it. 'My name is Emrys. Merlin, and any other connections I had to Arthur or Camelot, have been severed. Now I am a mere warlock, trying to find my place with the Druids.'

Emrys stood up and headed for the door. 'I came only to stop your incessant executions of sorcerers, where there were none. That task has been accomplished, so I will leave Camelot now.'

'Merlin,' said Gaius warningly.

Emrys paused at the doorway. 'Farewell, Gaius.'

And then he was gone.

**BREAK GAH STUPID PLOTHOLES I HAVEN'T WRITTEN IN SO LONG! GAHHHHHH!**

Emrys opened the door to his chambers to see Pedr and Lucia waiting for him, just as he had asked them to.

'Emrys!' cried Lucia. 'Where on earth were you?'

'Tying up some loose ends,' replied Emrys vaguely.

'So that meant casting truth spells on some poor old man?' retorted Pedr. It was then that Emrys realized that Katie, the girl that Pedr had rescued from execution, was hiding behind him.

'More like the other way around,' muttered Emrys. 'But as you may have realised, we're leaving Camelot now. As in five-minutes-from-now now.'

'What about Katie?' said Pedr. 'We can't just leave her. Her own people tried to execute her... for magic!'

She shrank behind Pedr again.

Emrys frowned. 'I'm sorry, Katie. You'll have to find your way.'

'I'll stay with her!' exclaimed Pedr. Emrys looked at him with raised eyebrows. Lucia froze, unsure what to say.

'You can't-' Emrys started. He examined Pedr's face. He knew that expression - it was the expression he often had when he knew he had made a choice, and would stick with it no matter what.

'Take care of him,' said Emrys to the girl. 'Lucia, get your things together. _Baratoi ein pethau.'_

Lucia nodded and headed out of the room as Emrys' belongings magically packed themselves into his luggage. Everything was folded neatly and the bags closed themselves, all within less than ten seconds.

'You... You... You're a sorcerer?' exclaimed Katie. 'A real one?'

Emrys nodded wearily. 'So is that person standing beside you.'

She jumped away from Pedr, looking at him and Emrys dubiously. 'All this time... There really were sorcerers in Camelot?'

'I'll leave Pedr to exclaim the finer points,' said Emrys. '_Camweddau dadwneud y gorffennol_. Everyone in Camelot has now forgotten their accusations of you. You can walk among them without fear now. But, obviously you can't return to your family. Close relationships are a bit too difficult to manipulate.'

Pedr frowned at Emrys, obviously thinking up several methods to torture him for so recklessly revealing their secrets. Lucia appeared in the doorway.

'Come visit us, Pedr,' said Emrys as he turned to leave. 'You know how. Lucia, let's go. I can't stand another moment here.'

**Ok my holidays are coming to an end now. So that means I won't be lazy. So that means I'll write more. So that means... REVIEW! =D **


	16. Torn

**Come on guys, last chapter the reviews dropped. Again. I measure myself with reviews, okay? My self-esteem really dropped. Hahaha, jokes, I don't care that much. But seriously, please let me know I'm not wasting my time =D**

_'Come visit us later, Pedr,' said Emrys. 'You know how. Lucia, let's go. I can't stand another moment in this hellhole.'_

'What did you mean, "you know how"?' asked Lucia as they briskly walked to the stables, lugging their baggage behind them.

'The Druids have telepathic powers,' explained Emrys. 'Normally it would be impossible for distances over a few hundred metres, but I amplified the powers using a bracelet charm. It is possible for Pedr to contact me, even if I am in another country.'

Lucia nodded. By then they had reached the stables. The distinctive smell of horse manure wafted up their nostrils, and they caught sight of the stableboy hiding in the shadows.

'Good evening,' said Emrys.

Too late he realized that the silhouette was not in fact the stableboy, but the prince of Camelot instead. Emrys cursed inwardly, and Lucia jumped.

'Hello,' replied Arthur pleasantly. 'What are you doing here?'

Emrys didn't reply, but instead went to his snow-white horse and looked for the saddle. He took the time needed to think up of an appropriate answer.

'I will leave the carriage,' said Emrys as he prepared his horse, 'that we came in as a parting gift to Camelot. My father sent a message to me with a homing pigeon saying that there is some urgent business to take care of.'

'Are you leaving?' Arthur asked, incredulous.

'I'm truly sorry,' said Emrys. He tightened the strap of his saddle and mounted his snow-white horse. Lucia followed suit on her own horse.

Arthur snorted. 'You're _sorry? _Urgent business? At this time? You've only been here for one night!'

Emrys didn't reply, checking that all his straps were adjusted correctly. His horse fidgeted, waiting for its master to give the command to ride.

'Stay one more night!' Arthur insisted. 'You won't be able to do anything in the dark.' Immediately Emrys thought of several spells that would allow him to be able to see in the dark, and several more that would make Arthur move out of the way.

'And also…' said Arthur uncertainly, 'I've enjoyed the time we've had together...'

Emrys clenched his reins as hard as he could. He wanted to say something like, _don't you recognize me? _And then something else like, _you would never have said that when I was a servant_. And then he wanted to apologize to Arthur for everything; for lying about his magic, for never coming back to Camelot, for hiding his own identity even now.

Lucia made a face somewhere between pity and disbelief, but it was hard to see in the dark. Emrys guessed she was thinking about the long trip back to the camp, and the fact they hadn't exactly accomplished their goal. She was probably also thinking about leaving Pedr behind, and Emrys' personal reasons for leaving Camelot.

'I-' stuttered Emrys. For a moment he was about to say, _I'll stay in Camelot forever!_ But he thought of his broken destiny. 'I can't. I have to help them back home.'

Emrys' hands were shaking, and he hoped fervently Arthur didn't notice.

Arthur clearly wasn't pleased with this explanation. 'You'll always be welcome back in Camelot.'

His tone was more a request for him to come back. Arthur stepped back and held the gates open for Emrys and Lucia.

Emrys galloped away, leaving Arthur alone in the dark. Both of them were wondering whether the other person felt the same thing; that there was an empty space in their heart now. That a very good friend had left, or been left behind. That their destiny had just been shredded to pieces.

**Whaddya think? =D If I get LOTSA reviews, I swear I'll update by the weekend. It's already written up. And also, it's Australian time weekend. That means the weekend comes 10+hrs earlier than the rest of yours! =DDDDD**


	17. Kidnapped

**Chapter Seventeen**

That summer, everything seemed to fall apart for Arthur.

Exactly seven years after Merlin's death, Arthur was visiting the place where he'd found his servant's tattered clothes when Leon came running towards him.

'Sire,' he panted. 'Come quickly! Something's wrong with the king!'

They hurried to the palace at once, and Arthur burst into the hall to find his father sitting on the throne, giggling like a little girl.

'Heehee… This is so pretty!' said Uther happily. 'It's so bright and colourful… and prettiful… it's almost like magic!'

Arthur paled.

Immediately Uther's expression darkened. 'No!' he exclaimed, slamming his fist on the armrest. 'Magic is evil. It must be desecrated! …decimated? …desiccated? Yes! Magic must be desiccated like a coconut!'

'Father?' said Arthur uncertainly, slowly approaching the throne.

'Coconuts,' muttered Uther. 'Magic is like a coconut. Chop, chop. CHOP, _CHOP_!'

Suddenly the king drew his sword and started slashing the air. 'Chop the coconut! Chop magic! CHOP, _CHOP_!'

Arthur and everyone else gaped at him for a few seconds, before Arthur drew his own sword and managed to knock his father out with a good blow to the head.

Utter silence as soon as the prince knocked him out. Was this some sort of regicide? Patricide?

Arthur stared at the king's unconscious form. 'Lock him in his bedroom,' he ordered.

The guards looked uncertainly at each other.

'I said, lock him up!' Arthur's voice nearly cracked.

Leon stayed as the rest of the court followed the two guards and the king. He put a hand on Arthur's shoulder.

'Sire,' the knight said uncertainly.

Arthur turned away and headed for the doors. 'I will take over my father's duties until he recovers. Make sure the knights are still training well. Camelot is more vulnerable than ever.'

He strode out of the hall, leaving Leon standing by himself.

BREAK LAHLAHLAH.

Five or so minutes later, Arthur walked into the king's bedchambers to see the king unconscious again and Gaius standing over him with a rag, presumably soaked in something to knock Uther out. Morgana was standing on the other side of the bed.

'Is he alright?' asked the prince.

'His body is fine,' said Gaius. 'But sanity appears to have left his mind.'

'He tried to order Gaius to execute me,' said Morgana. 'He said I was a hag.'

Arthur couldn't help but let the corners of his lips twitch.

'Don't you dare laugh, Arthur,' she said disapprovingly.

'Sorry,' said Arthur. Turning to Gaius, he asked, 'when will he recover?'

The physician frowned. 'It's hard to tell with illnesses of the mind. For the moment you will have to assume his roles indefinitely.

Arthur could feel his stomach twisting into knots. What if Uther didn't recover? What if he did, but was always giggling like a small child? Arthur sighed. There was already a small mound of paperwork on his desk, and it would soon grow into a huge mountain if he covered for his father.

'I'm sorry, sire,' said Gaius. 'If there was anything I could do...'

'You've done your best,' said Morgana. 'Thank you.'

Gaius went out, and Arthur signalled Morgana to stay behind.

'What?' she asked.

'You're pleased about this, aren't you?' said Arthur.

Something flitted across her face, to be quickly replaced by a carefully constructed expression of blankness. But Arthur didn't miss what was before: guilt.

'Don't be silly,' she said, and she walked off.

BREAK LAHLAHLAH.

A week later, Arthur was in his chambers going through some paperwork about the distribution of crops. Once again, Leon interrupted his concentration when he burst through the doors, once again out of breath.

'Is he better?' Arthur asked immediately, referring to his father.

'No,' said Leon breathlessly.

The prince stood up. 'Then what is it?'

'The Lady Morgana has been kidnapped by sorcerers,' said Leon. 'They're holding her hostage, and have camped outside the walls of Camelot.'

Arthur immediately headed out of his chambers and towards the castle walls, so that he could see with his own eyes the invading sorcerers.

'I was heading outside of the city walls for a ride with the Lady,' explained Leon, 'when suddenly the sorcerers materialized in front of me. She was ahead of me, and they caught her. They told me to go back in... To tell the prince to come out and meet their demands...'

Leon's voice was a bit shaky.

'I understand,' said Arthur. 'It's not your fault.'

'I should've protected her,' murmured Leon. 'I should've done... something!'

Arthur only shook his head. 'They're sorcerers. If there was something you could've done, I'm sure you would have already.'

By then they had reached the parapet. Arthur looked out over the wall. There were a few shelters set up, obviously with magic. It looked like the earth had been raised and cavities dug into the small hills. It couldn't have fitted more than 50 people.

'I thought you said there was an army,' he said, not too impressed.

'There may as well be an army,' said Leon. 'One sorcerer can take down a hundred men.'

Just then, three figures emerged from the shelters. Arthur and Leon both gasped. There was Morgana - held at knifepoint by a man. There was a small boy with them, too. He looked the picture of innocence and completely out of place.

'ARTHUR PENDRAGON!' the man yelled. 'I have the Lady!'

Arthur's fists clenched. This was the very essence of magic and evil. Sorcerers, of_ course_ they would kidnap Morgana while Camelot was weak. Uther was right. Sorcerers were _evil_.

'I wish to avoid violence!' the sorcerer continued.

_Bullcrap_, thought Arthur.

'I am not lying!' said the man. Arthur frowned. It was as if he had read his thoughts. 'My name is Alvarr! All I wish for is peace!'

_Then why do you have Morgana?_ the prince thought.

'I only have the Lady because I know you would attack me as soon as she were released!' yelled Alvarr.

Arthur's fists clenched even harder. If the sorcerer could read minds...

'We wish for peace!' said Alvarr. 'But unforgivable crimes have been committed. Your father murdered this little boy's parents,' he gestured at the boy with his head, 'and have slaughtered many of our kind!'

Arthur's frown deepened. 'You would have me give you my father?'

'Precisely,' said Alvarr. 'And if you don't...'

He pressed the knife harder into Morgana's throat. Even from that distance, Arthur could see drops of blood beading on her pale white skin. The message was clear.

'And we will destroy Camelot!' yelled Alvarr.


	18. Return

***sighs* I know I've been lazy! AGAIN! In case you've forgotten what's happening, Uther has gone mad, Morgana's been kidnapped by the Druids who made Uther go mad, and Arthur's taken over. And now to Emrys' POV! =)**

_'Magic must be desecrated! ...decimated? ...desiccated? Yes! Magic must be desiccated like a coconut!' _

Emrys had difficulty stopping himself from collapsing in laughter. He wasn't quite sure whether to laugh or cry, but the first option seemed more attractive. He looked at the image of Camelot again, where the king had started swinging his sword around, apparently trying to desiccate magic like a coconut.

Emrys burst into another round of laughter. Perhaps he should be feeling sorry for Arthur's predicament, but he couldn't help but see the irony in the situation. He'd felt strong magic being performed around Camelot, and upon further investigation had found out it was to make the king insane.

Even in his state of insanity, the king was still going after magic! Emrys felt the last of his laughs die down in his throat.

It was Alvarr and Mordred who had done this. They'd killed Katrin, his beloved... And now this. Emrys wasn't quite sure what emotions were surging through him now. He wanted to help Camelot. Perhaps it was his loyalty to Arthur, still there after seven years. Perhaps it was revenge for all the pain Alvarr had caused him. Perhaps it was just altruism, protecting those without magic from injustice.

In any case, Emrys knew that the king was in no real danger. Due to the peace vows the Druids made, Alvarr could not directly kill the king with magic. It was only if Arthur willingly handed him over that the king's life would be at Alvarr's mercy.

'Emrys?' Lucia's voice called out. She walked towards Emrys, evidently with some kind of request, but stopped short when she saw the image of Camelot flickering in the water.

'What are you doing?' she asked.

'I'm scyring Camelot,' replied Emrys. He muttered some words of the Old Religion, and suddenly Lucia could clearly hear every word that was being said, as if she were in the room.

Silently they watched as Gaius explained the nature of the king's mental affliction to Arthur, and then as Alvarr and Mordred kidnapped Morgana. Neither of them said a word as the other Druid group confronted Arthur and laid out their demands and conditions. At last, when Alvarr threatened to destroy Camelot, Emrys waved his hand and the sights and sounds of the city were gone.

'You know what?' said Emrys.

Lucia knew the answer already. 'Don't tell me. You want to go to Camelot?'

Emrys only replied with a smile.

'_Again_?' she said incredulously.

'Only for a short while,' he said. 'No one will even know we're gone.'

'And this time you don't even have a good reason to go!' Lucia protested. 'You just want to visit Arthur and play the hero!'

Emrys shook his head. 'No, I don't want to be the hero. If I wanted to, I could've made Arthur and the king, and Alvarr as well, bow down at my feet. But that's not what I want.'

'Then _why_ do you want to go to Camelot?' demanded Lucia.

Emrys bore his azure eyes deep into Lucia's. 'You weren't with the camp five years ago. Do you know why you've already travelled with me more times than any other Druid would ever dream of?'

Lucia shook her head. She'd always seen people whispering when she was with Emrys, but whenever she asked anyone, they would immediately change the topic.

Emrys moved closer to her, and lifted her chin up. 'You look so much like her,' he whispered.

He was looking deep into her eyes now, and the intensity of his gaze was starting to scare her.

'Like who?' she said, making something up in a feeble attempt to stop him from staring at her.

Emrys only looked at her even more intently, as if searching for something. For a moment she thought he was going to lean down and brush his lips against hers. Perhaps a year ago that would be all she ever wanted, but now he was_ really_ scaring her. He searched her eyes for a few more long seconds, and then let her go.

'Do you understand now?' he asked, stepping away.

_No_, thought Lucia. If anything, she was even more confused. But all she did was nod.

'Good,' said Emrys. 'I'm going to teleport us to the forests near Camelot.'

* * *

><p>Arthur stared out the window in hopelessness. The sun was setting, casting beautiful shades of reds and violets across the sky. It had been less than four hours since news of Morgana's abduction reached his ears, but it felt more like four days.<p>

For some reason, he found his mind wandering back to the prince who had visited over a year ago. The said prince would've known what to do...

Arthur shook his head. He hadn't known the prince that well! Why was he only thinking about him now? He sighed, pushing the thoughts out of his mind. He turned back to the mountain of paperwork, hoping a bright spark of inspiration on what to do would hit him sometime soon.

* * *

><p>'I'm going to teleport us to Camelot,' said Emrys. 'You might feel a bit sick for a few seconds. M<em>ynd â ni i'r fan lle yr wyf yn dymuno<em>!'

The world seemed to swirl. Lucia closed her eyes and suppressed the urge to vomit. Then suddenly, it stopped. Lucia cracked an eye open, to find that the sun was setting already.

'How do you like the forests?' said Emrys, gesturing around. 'I don't think you had a chance to explore them last year when we visited Camelot.'

'It's... A nice sunset, I guess,' said Lucia. In truth, it didn't seem any different to the one they were just in.

Just then, something caught both their eyes. It was a stick, with a red cloth tied to it. It was obviously very old, maybe having endured several years in that position. At the base of the stick were some rotting flowers, probably laid there a week ago.

A funny expression crossed Emrys' face. He strode over to it and examined it closely. There was a "M" carved onto the stick.

'This is where everything started,' he whispered, tracing the letter with his finger.

'Where what started?' asked Lucia. She felt like she was getting more and more confused as the day went on.

Emrys said nothing for a few seconds. Then he turned and walked purposefully away from the stick. 'This is where _everything_ started,' he said cryptically.

Suddenly there was a BANG! Emrys stopped short.

'What was that?' said Lucia.

'My shields disappearing,' replied Emrys. 'There's a trap here.'

An invisible, obviously magical force pushed both of them backwards and slammed them into trees. Lucia gasped as all the air was knocked out of her lungs.

An image of a man started flickering into life. If Lucia believed in the existence of ghosts, this was what she reckoned they'd look like. She started struggling against the invisible bonds, but to no avail.

'Alvarr,' hissed Emrys, completely still. 'I should've known.'

Suddenly the image of Alvarr started moving. He blinked a few times, then his eyes focused on the two pinned against the trees.

'Why, if it isn't the mighty Emrys,' he sneered. 'With his Katrin look-alike.'

'Release us,' said Emrys, his voice deadly quiet.

'And let you ruin everything _again_?' said Alvarr. 'As I recall it, you killed most of the Druids in our camp before Mordred managed to teleport the survivors away.'

'Only after you did the same yourself,' said Emrys coldly.

Lucia looked back and forth between them. Both had similar looks of absolute and utter hatred. She'd always thought Emrys was the most kind and perfect man, but she wasn't so sure anymore.

'Emrys,' she said slowly, unwilling to take the part of spectator anymore. 'Whatever this... Alvarr... has done, Camelot is more important.'

They both ignored her.

'I'm going to stop you,' vowed Emrys.

Alvarr tutted. 'Always a big talker, you were. Even if you could, are you sure you want to stop the return of magic to this land?'

'Magic will return by Arthur's hand,' replied Emrys.

Lucia blinked a few times, unsure if she'd heard right. There was no way Emrys had just said that Arthur would bring back magic.

Alvarr laughed derisively. 'Are you just hiding behind other people's words now? You know that the Seers are wrong about the prophecy of the Once and Future King. You know, just as well as I do, that the land of Albion will never be united. And you know that the only way to return magic to the land is to rid it of its king and his son, the Pendragons.'

Emrys' face remained expressionless.

'No,' said Alvarr. 'You're too old-fashioned. Your group of Druids and the leader before you, always too peaceful, always unwilling to shed blood for the greater good. Magic would never return if you and your Druids ran things. That was why I had to kill Cadell... For the greater good. That was why...'

His voice lowered, and his tone became urgent. '... I had to kill Katrin.'

'I'm going to kill you,' whispered Emrys. There was so much venom, so much hatred, in so few words. Emrys' face was the picture of pure anger. Lucia had never seen such an expression on anyone's face, let alone on that kind man's.

His eyes turned a molten gold colour, yet somehow filled with even more hatred. The wind started to pick up, and Lucia's hair whipped across her face.

Alvarr's eyes widened. 'How-' he managed to say, before his image was torn to shreds and disappeared into the wind.

The invisible bonds slackened suddenly and the wind dropped. Lucia fell to the ground, massaging her numb legs.

'We need to go,' said Emrys. All emotion was gone from his face, leaving a strange emptiness.

'Are you okay?' asked Lucia. She had been terrified at Emrys' display of power, but even more terrifying was the anger and hatred that had been in his eyes just a few seconds ago. She could only feel sorry for the poor person whom the anger was directed towards.

Emrys said nothing, but started walking towards Camelot.

**ND REVIEW! go on, just click that button... well, hyperlink, actually...**


	19. Call to Arms

Arthur was still sitting in his chambers, pondering what to do, when someone knocked on the door.

'Come in,' he said, and Leon entered.

'Sire,' said Leon, 'there's someone waiting for you in the Great Hall.'

Arthur nodded and followed the knight out. He was too distracted to ask who it was, and was met by the backs of two people.

The dark-haired man turned around. Arthur felt his heart stop. Blue eyes met blue. Time seemed to stand still for a moment, and then a smile started to curve Emrys' lips.

'Arthur,' greeted Emrys, and he gave a small bow. 'Remember me and Lucia?' He gestured to the girl standing next to him.

'What are you doing here?' asked Arthur.

'I'm going to help you, of course,' said Emrys. 'Help you get Morgana back and kick Alvarr's ass.'

'How did you get into the castle?' Arthur's head was reeling with questions.

'Through a secret passage from the forest,' he replied ambiguously.

'What secret-' Arthur shook his head. 'Never mind. How are we going to defeat Alvarr anyway? He has magic, and we have nothing but a few knights in Camelot.'

'Ah, well you're forgetting something. Me.'

Arthur snorted. 'Unless you're the most powerful sorcerer to ever walk the earth, predestined to unite the world or something, I doubt you'll be able to defeat fifty odd Druids. Powerful Druids.

Emrys gave an enigmatic smile. 'Back in my kingdom, the magicians helped me create a stone that would stop their magic.'

'What?' spluttered Arthur. 'They HELPED you? SORCERERS? Okay, are you even sure it works?'

'So sure that I'll fight them first. Remember how I kicked your ass in sword-fighting? I'm sure those Druids will be a pushover.'

Arthur ran a hand through his hair. 'I can't let you do that. This is my kingdom, and you shouldn't be risking your life for me.'

'Don't worry,' said Emrys. 'I won't die on you. Besides, I've taken a liking to you.'

Arthur sighed, then tried a different tactic. 'Shouldn't you be running your kingdom at home?'

Emrys was silenced by that, at least for half a second. 'Word came to us by a traveller that Camelot was in trouble. My father, the king, sent me here to help. You could actually call this a political mission.'

Arthur felt understanding, and horror, dawn in him. 'I see. Your kingdom felt it would be good to have Camelot owe them a favour.'

Emrys didn't answer. Arthur tried to suffocate a guilty feeling of horror. He thought Emrys had come for him. No, Emrys had only come because it was favourable. He tried not to let his feelings show on his face, but Emrys must've seen through it, because he said quietly,

'I asked my father to send me, to help out an old friend in need.'

Arthur cleared his face and nodded.

'We have no time to waste,' said Emrys. 'Let's get ready for battle. I'll meet you in the armoury.'

\|BREAK|/

'Ok, so what are your real reasons for helping Arthur?' said Lucia as soon as the doors of the hall closed behind them.

'Pity,' replied Emrys simply.

Lucia raised her eyebrows.

'Do you know about that prophecy?' said Emrys at last. 'It said that the Once and Future King and Emrys would unite the land of Albion. But then another one popped up, saying that the prince would betray Emrys.'

'You shouldn't be here, then,' said Lucia.

'No,' agreed Emrys. 'I probably shouldn't.'

They walked towards the armoury in silence.

\|BREAK|/

For the few seconds after Emrys had left, Arthur stood there in dumb silence.

'Are you really going to let him fight the Druids?' asked Leon at last.

Arthur sighed. 'My father would take any measures needed to rescue Morgana. I should respect what he would want.'

They followed Emrys' path, leaving a few guards to take care of the hall.

\|BREAK|/

'Oh, this is a nice sword,' said Emrys, holding up the king's sword.

'You can't use that!' interrupted Arthur. 'It's my father's!'

Emrys grinned mischievously. 'He wouldn't know, it's only for a few hours.' Everyone had already suited up in their armour, and Lucia agreed to stay behind and update Emrys from the battlements.

'Do you even have a plan?' asked Arthur incredulously.

'Defeat the Druids, rescue Morgana, and return for dinner,' replied Emrys.

Arthur shook his head. 'I'm not sure if you're brave or just an idiot.'

Emrys smile dropped suddenly. 'I've been called the second a few times. Maybe even useless.'

'You're anything but useless,' said Arthur.

Emrys gave another of his trademark grins. 'Glad to hear it, prat.'

There was another awkward silence, and Arthur broke it by saying, 'Ok, let's go rescue Morgana.'

They marched to the fields, and Emrys calls out, 'Alvarr! Come out, you coward!'

After a few seconds, he and Mordred appeared. They looked from Emrys to Arthur, twin expressions of confusion covering their faces.

'What on earth,' said Alvarr, 'are you doing with the prince of Camelot?'

'I'm helping him kick your ass,' said Emrys, smiling and stroking his sword.

Alvarr's face remained perplexed for a few more seconds, and then he started to laugh. 'Do you know who Emrys is? Do you, Prince Arthur?'

It was Arthur's turn to look confused and glance at Emrys. 'He's the prince of the Northern Kingdoms.'

'Ah, what wonderful lies he has fed you,' said Alvarr, and kept laughing manically. 'He is not!' By this time, the whole of the Druid encampment had come out to discover what the noise was about. Most of them pointed to Emrys and started whispering among themselves.

'No,' said Emrys softly. 'I am not a prince. I am the Lord of Avalon, High Priest of the Old Religion and the Keeper of the Crystal of Neahtid. But most importantly, I am Emrys.'

At the last word, some of the Druids began to look fearful. Arthur looked at Emrys in complete and utter confusion. 'What are you spurting?'

'I'm sorry,' said Emrys without looking at him. 'I've lied to you. About several things.'

'This is getting ridiculous,' Alvarr snarled. 'Be gone, Emrys. Avada kedavra!'

A green jet of light shot from Alvarr's hands, and Emrys threw his hands up in return, re-directing the beam of light to a nearby tree which was immediately burnt to a crisp.

Arthur flinched. 'You - you - you have magic!'

This time Emrys turned to look at Arthur. 'Yes. I have magic.'


End file.
